VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Editor's Note: In our original story, we identified Roger Dadiomoff as a representative of the Tidewater Libertarian Party. Holly Ward, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Virginia, said that Dadiomoff's group has no formal association with the state party. Ward said the Libertarian Party of Virginia does not support Victoria Manning's Facebook post and provided this statement:
"A country of origin should not determine whether an individual may be educated in an American school system. We believe families should have access to the best education for their children with the freedom to choose what works best for them. Advocating against basic human rights in the name of politics is repugnant."
We have left Dadiomoff's statements in the story without the reference to his group.
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A controversial comment from a Virginia Beach school board member is getting a lot of attention from critics and supporters.
Victoria Manning shared a Facebook post weighing in on the school division's ESL program.
"VB Schools has 300 additional ESL students in the past year. Most are from South America. Our ESL budget has increased over $1 million in 2 years. Continuing to educate South Americans is not sustainable," Manning wrote.
“We don't want to see race become an issue about who gets educated," said Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Coastal Virginia Chairwoman Patricia Bracknell.
People with different perspectives are weighing in on the statement about the budget for Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ English As a Second Language program.
“First of all, she’s not educating South American children. She’s educating the citizens of Virginia Beach," said Bracknell.
“And I think that to isolate just the Latino students was inappropriate because the ESL program for all students that are learning English as a second language," said Hispanic Resource Center of Coastal Virginia Director Viviana Fullwood.
The Hispanic community organizations hope the situation highlights the need for understanding other cultures.
On the supporters’ side is Roger Dadiomoff.
“She’s gotten hate mail, threats against her family," said Dadiomoff.
“I think her comment, the way it was taken out of context, didn’t address what she was trying to say and I’ve talked to her several times, which was we don’t have enough teachers in our schools," said Dadiomoff.
Due to her statement, Manning was taken off of a working group with the Virginia Department of Education.
RELATED: Virginia Beach school board member removed from state working group after comments on ESL students
In response to the controversy, Manning shared a statement explaining that her words were twisted and she did not intend to cause any harm.
Manning’s explanation about her statement is not stopping some students from speaking out against her comment.
The group “Students On Strike” said it will be voicing its concerns at the next school board meeting on March 8, in which members plan to discuss the ESL budget.