A Devon man who won the $1-million top prize on a 'Set For Life' scratch ticket told reporters he plans to pay off his mortgage and take a trip to the East Coast with his girlfriend, prompting Alberta's Ministry of Education to formally adopt the strategy as its long-term capital plan.

"For years, families have asked us how schools will be funded as enrolment grows and per-student dollars shrink," said a ministry spokesperson, gesturing at a foil-coated card. "We're proud to announce a scalable, low-overhead solution. It's called retail."

Under the framework, internally titled Achievement Through Scratching, every Alberta school division will be issued a quantity of lottery tickets proportional to its deficit. Divisions that fail to win will be praised for building resilience, a core competency in the new curriculum.

The Devon winner, who works in the trades and not in education, was reportedly unaware he had become provincial policy. "I just wanted a coffee and a ticket," he said. "I didn't know I was modelling fiscal responsibility for an entire generation of children."

Officials emphasized that the odds are equitable. "We've always believed in giving every Alberta student an equal chance — specifically, a 1-in-3.6-million chance," the spokesperson said. "Compare that to our current odds of opening a new school in a growing community, which we're not legally permitted to disclose."

Asked whether simply funding schools directly might be more reliable than a convenience-store gambling product, the ministry called the suggestion fiscally irresponsible and noted that, unlike the budget, the ticket had at least paid out once.