Put more money into public education.

Provide better pay for police officers.

Advocates for both gave Richmond City Council members an earful at a public hearing Monday night as the governing body considers amendments to Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ two-year budget.

Whether their appeals are successful remains to be seen, but the council may have little wiggle room. The budget plan council members are reviewing provides virtually no new revenue over the current year’s spending, limiting the governing body.

Public education and police pay were the major issues that aroused passion and brought out speakers eager to press their point of view.

Educators and their supporters made it clear they are upset that the mayor’s plan would essentially flat-fund the school system’s operations, largely ignoring the request of Richmond Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden and the School Board for an additional $24 million to support his plan to improve academic performance.

Charlotte Hayer, president of the Richmond Educational Association that serves teachers and other school employees, told council that “it’s time to make the school system a bigger priority” in pleading for more funding.

“It is time to do better by our children,” said Ms. Hayer, as dozens in the council chambers held up signs with the slogan “Support Our Schools. “

She asserted that city funding for K-12 education has declined by 15 percent in the past five years.

“It is time to put your money where your mouth is and prove to the children that you care. It is time for Richmond’s kids to have great public schools no matter what their ZIP code may be.”

“Our schools have suffered from severe budget cuts far too long,” Keri Treadway, a city resident and a veteran teacher at Fox Elementary, told the council. “The fact we are still operating on a pre-recession budget is unconscionable.”

Ms. Treadway said the result is larger class sizes. She now teaches up to 28 students, up from the 17 just a few years ago.

“We’ve seen our supply budget slashed, field trips cut and tutorial programs eliminated.”

She said she soon will have to decide whether to let her son attend a Richmond school when he is ready for kindergarten in a little more than a year.

“How can I in good conscience put my son in a school system that has been consistently underfunded and treated as an afterthought?

“You have the power to change the tide,” Ms. Treadway said. “By making the decision to fully fund Dr. Bedden’s budget, you can send a strong statement to all of Richmond that this is the start of a new era.”

That also was the view of former City Councilman E. Martin “Marty” Jewell, who called on council members to ignore the mayor’s plan and pump up funding for schools.

“Take a risk for kids,” he told council, saying that their backing for Dr. Bedden’s proposal would represent “the signature decision you will make in the next two years.”

Police advocates, meanwhile, urged council to find millions of dollars for better pay than Mayor Jones has offered.

The mayor has proposed boosting starting pay for new officers from $36,500 to $41,000 to make the city more competitive in attracting recruits. But many longer serving officers would get less than a 1 percent pay increase.

Richmond’s firefighters are on the same pay scale and also would be affected.

Because public safety workers, like other city employees, have gone without a pay hike in five of the past six years, their base pay has not grown. As a result, Sgt. Paul Cline and other police officers told council the mayor’s plan would put rookies on the same pay level as officers with six or more years. They urged additional funds be provided to offer a proper increase for police with longer service.

He said many officers are forced to work long hours of overtime to make ends meet for their families, putting stress on marriages and on children.

“It’s a slap in the face,” Brad Nixon, a 12-year veteran of the police department told attentive council members.

He said the mayor has promised a bigger raise for veteran officers in the second year of his budget plan. “But we have heard that kind of promise before, and for all we know, it will not materialize,” he said.

Former Council President William J. Pantele, now a lobbyist for the police officers, and former Councilman Bruce W. Tyler all joined in urging council for more money for police and firefighters.

“You need to find the money,” Mr. Pantele urged the council.