RALEIGH — The North Carolina Education Lottery made a quarterly transfer of $127 million dollars to the state for education funding, a record transfer owing to a record Mega Millions jackpot that captured imaginations – and revenue – nationwide.

The third-quarter haul brings the total generated for the state this fiscal year up to $353.9 million, comfortably on pace for the $429.9 million the state expected from the lottery, according to an NCEL press release. The budget allocated the money for teacher salaries in grades K-3, school construction and repair, prekindergarten programs for at-risk kids, and college scholarships and financial aid.

The $640 million Mega Millions jackpot on March 30 turned the quarter into a particularly lucrative one, as it made headlines and drove record sales in the week leading up to the drawing. While winners in Illinois, Maryland and Kansas split the haul, the NCEL collected $20.4 million in revenue for that game alone, most of it the day of the drawing.

In the aftermath, the Education lottery revised fiscal year projections up to $450 million.

Half of all revenue goes into prize money. More than a third goes toward public education, with the rest going to retailers, administration and marketing and marketing.

The lottery has generated $2.35 billion for the state since launching in 2006.