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Governor Glenn Youngkin met with multiple members of his cabinet Wednesday for a briefing about school safety in Virginia following the murders of 19 elementary students and two teachers Tuesday in Texas. According to his spokesperson, the governor asked his administration to review the current and future steps being taken to keep schools safe in Virginia.
“This morning, Governor Youngkin received a briefing from Secretary [of Public Safety and Homeland Security] Robert Mosier, Secretary [of Public Education] Aimee Guidera, Secretary [of Health and Human Resources] John Littel, and State Superintendent Jillian Balow about actions taken to protect children in schools and the resources available at the state level to provide mental health access as needed in response to yesterday’s tragedy in Uvalde, TX,” said Macaulay Porter, a spokesperson for Youngkin. “The Governor has asked his administration to evaluate steps already taken and future steps to help ensure our schools are safe.”
Porter also reiterated the governor’s desire to add $50 million to the state budget for school resource officers across the commonwealth. Youngkin called for SROs in every school earlier this year but the legislation died in the state Senate.
“The Governor previously requested an additional $50 million in the budget for School Resource Officers and is hopeful the General Assembly will prioritize this important request,” Porter said Wednesday.
Legislators are scheduled to meet on June 1 to finalize the budget and multiple pieces of legislation.
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