RICHMOND — Budget conferees in the Virginia General Assembly on Friday are hammering out differences in funding for K-12 education, transportation, and health care in marking up the state’s current two-year budget, with a Saturday deadline looming for adjournment.
Both the House and the Senate appeared to be moving closer to a compromise on education funding; the House had originally proposed millions of dollars in cuts from K-12 spending, while the Senate wanted to add $100 million.
“I think each side mutually agreed that the total funding for public education we would work toward would be $75 million,” said Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania. “We’re in the process now of negotiating how that would be structured. We’re right in the middle of that as we speak.”
But will the session adjourn on time?
“We’re working toward that goal, and whether we can get there or not, it may still be too early to tell,” he said. “Something can unexpectedly stop it, but I think everyone is earnestly working toward the adjournment … we’re trying to see if we can make that happen.”
