Game show winner files for bankruptcy

ATLANTA, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- The Georgia state schools superintendent who recently won $1 million on the TV game show "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" has declared bankruptcy.

State schools chief Kathy Cox filed bankruptcy last week, ABC News reported Monday.

Cox plans to uphold her promise to donate her winnings to two schools for deaf children and a school for the blind, despite declaring personal bankruptcy, a spokeswoman said.

Cox and her husband listed more than $3.5 million in liabilities and less than $650,000 in assets, separate from her winnings, ABC reported.

Cox is the co-signer on loans for husband John Cox's home-building business, Pebble Hill Homes. She earns about $125,000 a year, and said she could not support the couple on her salary after a downturn in the home-building industry.

"On Nov. 17, after consultation with numerous attorneys, my husband and I made the difficult decision to file for bankruptcy due to losses incurred by his home-building business," Cox said in a statement.

The Coxes filed under Chapter 7 of the federal bankruptcy code, which allows them to keep and continue paying for some assets, including their homes and cars.