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By stubbornly declaring an optional, voter-authorized sales tax to fund school construction to be an expensive “new tax” on Virginians, Gov. Glenn Youngkin completely misses the point.

Here are two hard realities that politicians must confront sooner than later:

1. In rapidly growing communities like Isle of Wight County, schools will outgrow their current facilities and new or expanded buildings will be required.
2. Taxpayers will foot the bill one way or the other.

In vetoing for the second year in a row a bipartisan bill that would empower voters in Virginia localities to decide which of their taxes will pay for new schools, Youngkin seeks to perpetuate the current, unfair burden on homeowners, whose real estate taxes disproportionately fund public education.

The bill would simply allow what nine localities already have the authority to do: Let voters, by referendum, voluntarily raise the local sales tax 1% to fund school construction.

In Isle of Wight, such a funding source is sorely needed as county supervisors face the reality of a new Westside Elementary School to accommodate continuing residential growth. 

In his veto message, Youngkin said the bill “could result in a nearly $1.5 billion a year tax increase on Virginians.”

What he didn’t say is that the estimate is based on a wrongheaded assumption that every locality would hold a referendum and every electorate would adopt it. Many rural counties that are stagnant or losing population don’t need new schools. Those with slow growth have time to build up capital funds for school construction that won’t be needed in the next few years.

However, localities like Isle of Wight and Suffolk don’t have that luxury. Time is of the essence.

Youngkin, to his credit, did include a budget amendment for an additional $50 million in school construction grants and loans, or a total of $610 million in the current biennial budget. But spread across all communities that need new schools soon, that money is a drop in the bucket. For example, in Suffolk, the expected cost just to renovate John F. Kennedy Middle School is upwards of $75 million.

The beauty of a sales tax as a funding mechanism is that it allows visitors and non-homeowners to help fund an essential government service. Homeowners, of course, would also pay the additional sales tax, but that burden pales in comparison to the effect of school construction on their real estate tax bills.

The General Assembly was set to reconvene this week to act on Youngkin’s budget amendments and vetoes. We appreciate that state Sen. Emily Jordan, R-Isle of Wight, who voted for the 1% sales tax bill, is putting partisan loyalty aside by pledging to help override the Republican governor’s veto.