A group of current and former staff members at a Boone County middle school banded together and won $1 million playing the Kentucky Lottery this week.

In a Monday press release, the lottery said it was looking for the owner of a Powerball ticket worth $1 million in the weekend drawing. Now, the prize has been claimed and split 30 ways — $24,000 after taxes for each player in the group.

The group of educators, who called themselves “the Jones 30” after Jones Middle School in Florence, embarked on a jubilant carpool to Kentucky Lottery headquarters Tuesday. The group cheered as they entered the lobby of the agency’s Louisville headquarters, the Kentucky Lottery said in a news release.

The group has been playing together for years, the lottery said. The Jones 30 has consistently played the same set of lottery numbers since 2019.

“We all taught at the same school at one point or another,” one anonymous winner told the Kentucky Lottery. “We’ve got counselors, admins, special ed teachers, the school nurse… Some have moved on or retired but we still continue to do it. We’ve remained buddies for all of these years.”

The group’s leader, a retired math teacher, discovered the win the day after the Jan. 27 drawing. The group matched all five white balls, but missed the red Powerball, still winning $1 million, but not the jackpot.

According to the Kentucky Lottery, the teacher hid the ticket in a math book, deeming it to be the safest place for it.

“No one looks in a math book,” she joked. “I knew it would be safe there…page 200. I have checked this a thousand times.”

At Kentucky Lottery headquarters in downtown Louisville Tuesday, each player was presented with a check this week. Even after winning, the group plans to continue playing together to keep in touch.

The Kroger grocery story in Hebron will also receive $10,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Do you or a loved one have a gambling problem? Help is available at 1-800-662-4357.

Do you have a question about the Kentucky Lottery for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email ask@herald-leader.com.