The governor rejected the bill a week ago because he said it didn't go far enough for school choice. The House voted 60-52 in favor of the veto, which was short of the two-thirds vote needed.

State Rep. Ted Pitts said the legislation would cost local school systems $91 million in three years when fully implemented.

"Unfunded mandates at this point are not the thing to be passing," said Pitts, R-Lexington.

State Education Superintendent Jim Rex, who has touted the proposal, rallied legislators for a veto override. "The money issue did need to be addressed," Rex said, adding that the bill had a provision that would have stopped full implementation if the money wasn't available.

Sanford has touted school choice, but in the form of tax breaks to help parents send their children to private schools. Those proposals also have failed in the House.

Sanford vetoed this bill, saying it "only creates the illusion of an open system."

"The bottom line is that until we get full-blown choice that includes both public and private educational options, we won't have the kind of vibrant educational marketplace we need to achieve real educational improvements in our state," Sanford said in his veto message.

Rex said he was disappointed.

"We had a chance to get out of the trench warfare that I've seen the last three years with the debate over vouchers and we had a chance to expand real choice, accountable choice, accessible choice within our public schools," said Rex, a Democrat. "I think thousands of parents, thousands of children have been shortchanged."

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