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Nevada K‑12 leaders describe upgraded cameras, single‑point entries and staffing gaps; districts ask for sustained funding
Summary
Superintendents and safety chiefs from Lyon, Clark, Washoe, Elko and Lander counties briefed the Senate Education Committee on school safety measures — from Centegix alert badges and bus cameras to perimeter fencing and mental‑health shortages — and urged stable funding for technology, school resource officers and counseling staff.
Superintendents and district safety officials from multiple Nevada school systems told the Senate Committee on Education they have increased perimeter fencing, installed camera systems and expanded single‑point entries at many campuses, but they called for more funding and personnel to sustain the work.
Tim Logan, superintendent of Lyon County School District, said his district uses a combination of technology and human monitoring. "We use what's called the BARK system" to detect worrisome online language, Logan said, and schools also use supervised alert systems that notify administrators and allow live camera feeds when teachers trigger an in‑class emergency button.
Clark County School District Police Chief (for the record) said CCSD operates one of the largest school camera systems in the country, with more than 23,000 cameras on a single system and 250,000 motion detectors districtwide. Chief Jay Beasley and CCSD officials said the district runs a 24‑hour police dispatch center that handles alarm activations, alert buttons and SafeVoice and GoGuardian tips; the center logged more than 120,000 calls last year.
Washoe County Chief Operating Officer Adam Searcy described long‑running capital investments funded in part by the 2016 WC1 sales‑tax measure that accelerated perimeter hardening, single‑point entry vestibules and modern radio and communications systems. "The same emergency grade radio that our chief of police carries on his hip all day every day is in the hands of every one of our school principals," Searcy said. Washoe also described a Centegix badge pilot that places a small alert button on staff lanyards to summon help from anywhere on campus.
Smaller and rural districts described steeper infrastructure gaps. Elko County Superintendent Clayton "CJ" Anderson said his district has cameras on about 90% of buses and a mixture of perimeter protections, but that many school buildings are decades old and costly to retrofit. Anderson credited private and federal grants — including about $1 million from Nevada Gold Mines and two consecutive half‑million dollar COPS grants — with recent progress but said equity challenges remain across urban and rural systems.
Lander County Superintendent Russ Klein described an effort to standardize lock‑and‑access systems: his small district of roughly 1,000 students is replacing labor‑intensive keyed locks with push‑to‑close classroom hardware and is planning a districtwide electronic keycard system estimated at about $1.5 million. Klein said maintaining camera systems is an ongoing cost: the district spent roughly $80,000 last year and budgeted more this year for camera upkeep.
Officials across districts also emphasized mental‑health staffing shortages and the need for school resource officers (SROs) and campus security monitors. Lyon County said its counselor ratio is roughly 1 to 250; Elko reported seven SROs for more than 20 school sites, and district leaders said recruitment and retention of counselors and social workers remains a major constraint.
Officials and several legislators raised concerns about SafeVoice, the state tipline, saying it can produce false or prank reports that consume staff time even as it yields critical leads. Elko's superintendent said SafeVoice "is problematic" because of misuse but recognized its value in suicide prevention and threat reporting.
Several district officials urged state and federal aid to maintain upgrades, citing E‑rate and other federal programs as essential for technology upkeep. Committee members asked superintendents to provide consistent metrics on camera coverage, SRO staffing and counseling ratios so legislators can better align funding with needs.
Public commenters in Las Vegas and Carson City reinforced requests for greater campus staffing and stronger transparency on lockdown communication; UNLV faculty speakers recounted the Dec. 6, 2023, attack and urged larger investments than the amounts discussed in testimony.
