Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have required elementary and middle school students to take about 150 minutes of physical education a week by 2014, saying it was an unfunded mandate on localities. While the bill’s objective was laudable — one in five Northern Virginia kids is obese, according to the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth — mandatory P.E. would cost too much and cut into classroom time, McDonnell said. Fairfax County estimated that staffing alone would cost $18 million to $24 million.

“In the fight against childhood obesity and preventable disease, we all have a role to play,” McDonnell said. “Government cannot just pass legislation and make this problem go away.”