Local school superintendent responds to Youngkin veto

Madi Codispoti
·2 min read
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WASHINGTON COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) – Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill that would allocate a small percentage of taxes toward school construction.

According to Youngkin, the bill would push taxes beyond what he felt was reasonable.

“I felt that adding an incremental tax burden on top of the already high taxes across the Commonwealth of Virginia was unnecessary,” Youngkin said. “Particularly at a time when inflation is still running away and stealing hardworking Virginian’s money.”

Dr. Keith Perrigan, superintendent of Washington County, Virginia Schools, said passing the bill wouldn’t automatically add an additional tax.

“The beauty of this bill is that it’s not a tax that’s put on citizens by elected officials,” Perrigan said. “It has to happen through a referendum.”

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Perrigan added that it would give the communities the choice of whether they want the additional revenue to go toward their schools.

“Local voters, local citizens get to decide what their priorities are,” Perrigan said. “Do we want to raise sales tax and improve our schools or is it something we want to kick down the road and wait until we have a better revenue stream?”

While Perrigan said his schools are in good shape, the additional revenue will benefit schools located in more rural areas.

“Schools across Southwest Virginia and all across rural Virginia are really struggling with old facilities that have mold and mildew issues that are not handicap accessible,” Perrigan said. “The problem in those localities is that they really don’t have a way to generate additional revenue without raising a tax in order for that to happen.”

Youngkin said the support towards schools will continue despite the veto.

“We will continue to have strong support for school construction,” Youngkin said. “Both through grants and loans in the common ground budget.”

Perrigan said the bill will be brought back up at the veto session when the General Assembly reconvenes on April 17.

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