Hundreds of speakers urge Carson City School Board to keep school social workers amid proposed cuts

Parents, students, teachers and school social workers packed the meeting to oppose proposed cuts that would eliminate district-employed social workers and leave elementary schools without on-site mental-health professionals. Public comment, which the board held while agenda item 13 (possible action on layoffs) was pulled, stretched across more than an hour of testimony.

Speakers described social workers as the campus-level clinicians who identify risk, run group and individual prevention programs, complete safety plans, coordinate referrals to outside services, and help keep students in class. At Seeliger Elementary, parent Kathy White said her grandson regained the sense of safety needed to return to the classroom after a social-worker-led intervention. At Fritch and Fremont speakers — including licensed school social workers who identified themselves — described caseloads that include students with suicide ideation, homelessness, and chronic medical needs and said those responsibilities require graduate-level training and clinical judgment.

One school social worker, Nicole Sitton, described 11 years in the district building continuum-of-care systems with community partners and said removing the positions would “remove a lifeline” for students in crisis. Molly McGregor, a middle-school social worker, warned that contractor models could not replicate the day-to-day relationship-building and community outreach embedded in site-based social work and cautioned of an increased safety and liability burden if local clinicians were eliminated.

Multiple commenters, including teachers and a registered nurse, said social workers reduce police responses, de-escalate violent episodes and improve attendance. Several speakers pointed to Medicaid reimbursement as a partial revenue stream that can offset costs if the district invests in systems to bill appropriately; social workers and allied staff at the meeting estimated a realistic contribution from billing but emphasized that grants alone had previously funded many positions. The Nevada youth-risk behavior data and local hospital clinicians were cited to underscore rising youth mental-health needs.

District leaders did not take action on the proposal at the meeting. President Waltz reminded the public that agenda item 13 had been pulled and that the item would return at a future meeting. Board members received the comments and asked staff to continue providing documentation. The public asked trustees to prioritize student safety and to explore alternatives, including Medicaid billing and targeted grants, before considering cuts.