The Alabama State Board of Education outlined a list of budget priorities on Thursday, highlighting new costs for school safety and transportation.

The largest increase in requests is for school safety, where the department is seeking $50 million. That is up from $2.5 million approved last year, although lawmakers also provided an additional $12 million in supplemental funding. About $3.8 million of that went to a statewide school mapping program and $3.4 million to train officers in rural counties.

“We’ve given ALEA money to provide training for officers who may be the only person responding in a rural county,” said Mackey. “That kind of training is vital when you’ve got three deputies on duty and no state troopers in the county.”

Districts have also used safety dollars on fencing, cam

See Full Page