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Nevada superintendents push capital, mental‑health staffing and learner‑centered change in InVEST platform
Summary
The Nevada Association of School Superintendents (InVEST) told the committee their priorities: address capital and maintenance shortfalls (especially in rural districts), expand mental‑health and counseling staffing, and support modern, competency‑based learning and internship/CTE expansion.
The Nevada Association of School Superintendents presented the InVEST platform to the Senate Education Committee, outlining current district needs and policy priorities that align with the Commission on Innovation and the department’s initiatives.
Adam Young, president of the association and superintendent in White Pine County, said superintendents support learner‑centered approaches and recommended policy changes to make classroom innovations easier to scale. Tate Els (Eureka County) emphasized rising mental‑health and social‑emotional needs and the uneven distribution of counselors and social workers across districts; he described a rural district where a single counselor must travel multiple hours between schools.
Fiscal and facilities priorities were highlighted by AJ Feuling (Carson City) who pointed to aging infrastructure and examples of inadequate school facilities; he said some districts lack basic accessibility modifications and long‑term maintenance funding. The district leaders reiterated the commission’s fiscal analysis and urged attention to capital funding and operations budgets, especially in smaller and rural systems.
On workforce and student pathways, presenters told senators they support expanded internships, dual‑credit and CTE opportunities and teacher‑pipeline programs. Joe Ernst (Washoe County) highlighted local progress on internships and CTE completion and called for policy changes that recognize early childhood investments and mental‑health supports as essential to long‑term outcomes.
Why it matters: Superintendents framed capital and mental‑health staffing shortfalls as operational constraints on reforms like competency‑based learning and MTSS. They urged the Legislature to consider policy and funding that address facility modernization, sustained operations and staffing pipelines.
Next steps: The association asked lawmakers to align state policy with Commission on Innovation recommendations and to consider targeted capital and operational supports for rural districts, continued investments in workforce pathways, and expanded mental‑health staffing support.
