VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — On Tuesday night, the Virginia Beach City Public Schools School Board voted 7-3 in favor of a resolution to implement full-day kindergarten.
Implementing that will cost about $5 million. The school boar will now ask city council for the funding. If approved, that would mean a tax increase for residents.
It would come out to about $25 per household.
By the crowd reaction, it wasn't hard to tell speakers at Tuesday night's school board meeting were mostly against a possible tax increase.
"I think it's outrageous, outrageous that you're considering asking for another increase," said one woman.
"Don't you think we could maybe cut the fat a little bit somewhere and come up with the money instead of asking for a tax increase when the people in Virginia Beach just got one two years ago?" said another speaker.
The money would be in addition to an almost $1 billion dollar school budget.
"You guys don't get it. We cannot afford this. We cannot keep affording these tax and fee increases. You've got to stop. In your budget, you should be able to afford this if you want to do it," said a man who spoke in front of the school board.
Virginia Beach Education Association President Kelly Walker said she wasn't surprised to see push back or the board split on this subject.
"It's not just the school board. The school board is constrained by the fact that city council has its needs and the state has not done what it needs to do," said Walker.
Three school board members voted against the increase: Laura Hughes, Carolyn Weems, and Victoria Manning.
They all echoed each other, saying if full-day kindergarten was a priority, then the school board should've budgeted for it. They felt it wasn't fair for tax-payers to foot the bill.
Implementing full-day kindergarten into the school system is done in phases, which is supposed to take five years. This is the third year.