RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) -- In a rare Sunday gathering, both the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee met to present their budget amendments to the public.
Major highlights include a one percent raise for most state workers.
But a big question mark going into the presentation was how much the respective committees were going to allocate for school safety.
In the House, over $30 million is being allocated over 5 years. That includes $1.7 million for school resource officers.
For the next five years, $6 million in competitive grants will be awarded for schools looking for security improvements. Each district would be required to make a 25 percent match.
The Senate Finance Committee also addressed the need for school safety however they did not allocate as much funds as the House.
"We are recommending $1 million for incentive grants," State Senator Ryan McDougle, told the committee.
Some in the education committee expressed concern that number is not enough to make substantial reforms.
" It's not nearly enough," Kim Grey, a Richmond school board member,"
"We have 132 school districts in the Commonwealth that wouldn't even be a drop in the bucket," Grey added.
When CBS 6 asked Senator McDougle about the number he said they focused on "targeted" reforms.
Lawmakers said that funds will most likely increase as the respective budgets reach the floor.
