On Sunday, the Washington State Scholastic Esports Association (WSSEA) and the Snohomish County Sports Commission hosted the 2025 Esports High School State Championships at the Lynnwood Event Center. This is the first time WSSEA has held the Esports State Championships in Lynnwood.

Esport is a team sport played using electronic games. More than 160 students from 32 high school teams across Washington state competed, including representatives from Edmonds-Woodway High School. Teams specialize in playing one or more of three commercial games (Rocket League, Valorant and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate). Two high school teams play against each other in a series of elimination rounds. Final scores for all games can be found on the WSSEA website.

In addition to the gaming competitions, this event included representatives from college eSport programs, gaming equipment suppliers and numerous gaming development companies.

“As we mark 20 years of storytelling and brand-building, we’re proud to unveil the next evolution of The Lumistella Company at Licensing Expo,” said Christa Pitts, co-CEO of The Lumistella Company.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Reaction is pouring in to Jefferson County Public Schools’ tentative budget for the 2025-26 school year. The Board of Education reviewed the proposal Tuesday. 

JCPS is in the second part of the budgeting process. Chief Financial Officer Eddie Muns said they’re just below their $100 million reduction goal. 

“We came up with $99.1 million worth of budget reductions and tried to make sure that they impacted students to the least extent possible,” Muns said.

JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio said the district is going back to 2019 funding levels without federal funds they received after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our budget cuts really at this point were either things that we added because of those ESSER [Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund] from COVID or one-time expenses like weapon detection and things like that … I think we’ve done a really good job of making those cuts without having to cut any staff whatsoever,” Pollio said. “I’m proud of that work.” 

One of the largest cuts is eliminating the $12 million in transportation stipends to help families drive students to school. Those funds were originally put into place after the district cut back on transportation to magnet and traditional schools.

Families received up to $10 per day to take their children to school if they qualified for free or reduced lunch. Around 17,000 students were eligible for the transportation stipends.

JCPS parent Tabetha Smith, who lives in Louisville’s South End, said not having transportation at all has hurt her family. 

“The problem is, it’s now turned into a position that not only are we not going to transport your children, but we’re also now not going to financially support you while you are trying to work, while you are trying to do what you can for your child’s education,” Smith said. “Instead of supporting us as parents, you’re doing the complete opposite.”

Smith fears she may have to pull her kids out of their current middle schools.

“My daughter is smart, and I’m proud that she has made it this far,” Smith said. “And yet we’re going to turn around and penalize her with not being able to go to school and having to go from Noe Middle to Moore.” 

Muns said that with this current budget, there will be certain challenges that will have to be addressed in the future.

“We have certain salary schedules that we know need to be reviewed for certain positions,” Muns said. “Another is we have we don’t have a current replacement schedule for things that we know we will need a replacement schedule for. One of those is buses; another one is Chromebooks.” 

While there are almost $100 million in cuts, the budget still calls for nearly $30 million for racial equity initiatives and little more than $11 million for mental health practitioners.

JCPS will show the working budget in September, which will include updated projections for property tax revenue and a better idea of the district’s financial path.

The district’s goal is to cut another $50 million for the 2026-27 school year. 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Reaction is pouring in to Jefferson County Public Schools’ tentative budget for the 2025-26 school year. The Board of Education reviewed the proposal Tuesday. 

JCPS is in the second part of the budgeting process. Chief Financial Officer Eddie Muns said they’re just below their $100 million reduction goal. 

“We came up with $99.1 million worth of budget reductions and tried to make sure that they impacted students to the least extent possible,” Muns said.

JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio said the district is going back to 2019 funding levels without federal funds they received after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our budget cuts really at this point were either things that we added because of those ESSER [Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund] from COVID or one-time expenses like weapon detection and things like that … I think we’ve done a really good job of making those cuts without having to cut any staff whatsoever,” Pollio said. “I’m proud of that work.” 

One of the largest cuts is eliminating the $12 million in transportation stipends to help families drive students to school. Those funds were originally put into place after the district cut back on transportation to magnet and traditional schools.

Families received up to $10 per day to take their children to school if they qualified for free or reduced lunch. Around 17,000 students were eligible for the transportation stipends.

JCPS parent Tabetha Smith, who lives in Louisville’s South End, said not having transportation at all has hurt her family. 

“The problem is, it’s now turned into a position that not only are we not going to transport your children, but we’re also now not going to financially support you while you are trying to work, while you are trying to do what you can for your child’s education,” Smith said. “Instead of supporting us as parents, you’re doing the complete opposite.”

Smith fears she may have to pull her kids out of their current middle schools.

“My daughter is smart, and I’m proud that she has made it this far,” Smith said. “And yet we’re going to turn around and penalize her with not being able to go to school and having to go from Noe Middle to Moore.” 

Muns said that with this current budget, there will be certain challenges that will have to be addressed in the future.

“We have certain salary schedules that we know need to be reviewed for certain positions,” Muns said. “Another is we have we don’t have a current replacement schedule for things that we know we will need a replacement schedule for. One of those is buses; another one is Chromebooks.” 

While there are almost $100 million in cuts, the budget still calls for nearly $30 million for racial equity initiatives and little more than $11 million for mental health practitioners.

JCPS will show the working budget in September, which will include updated projections for property tax revenue and a better idea of the district’s financial path.

The district’s goal is to cut another $50 million for the 2026-27 school year. 

The Georgia Film Academy (GFA) is offering GFA 1000/FILM 1100 Introduction to Film & Television Production this summer on the Savannah State University campus. The course is open to students from Savannah State University, Georgia Southern University, College of Coastal Georgia, East Georgia State College, Ogeechee Technical College and the broader community through GFA’s Professional Education program.

This introductory course provides students and professional education students with a foundation in on-set film production, covering industry-standard equipment, techniques and procedures. Designed as a six-credit-hour course, it equips participants with practical knowledge and skills essential for working on professional film sets.

Introduction to Film & Television Production is the first course in GFA’s production certification pathway. The certification program combines classroom instruction with hands-on learning with professional equipment and the opportunity to obtain on-set experience through additional craft courses and optional industry internships. Students who complete the pathway can gain credentials to help launch careers in the entertainment sector, including film, television and live production.

“At GFA, our mission is to connect talent with opportunity,” said Scott Votaw, Assistant Vice Chancellor of the Georgia Film Academy. “We’re not just training students, we’re preparing them to step onto real sets, into real studios and contribute to real productions. Our programs are designed to ensure participants are ready to thrive in Georgia’s entertainment industry.”

GFA certification is recognized nationwide and highly valued by film and live entertainment production employers. Students who continue beyond GFA 1000 have the opportunity to apply for a hands-on internship on professional productions, providing resume-building experience and industry connections. GFA alumni have contributed to blockbuster projects such as “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Megalopolis,” “Creed III,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Stranger Things,” “The Walking Dead” and many other films and television shows.

Since its founding in 2015, the Georgia Film Academy has supported the state’s fast-growing creative economy by providing specialized, professional training through more than 30 partner institutions. In collaboration with the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia, GFA offers certification programs for technical college, university, adult and dual enrollment learners statewide.

Students or area residents interested in enrolling or learning more about the Georgia Film Academy can visit www.georgiafilmacademy.edu.

About the Georgia Film Academy

The Georgia Film Academy (GFA) is a professional organization and unit of the University System of Georgia (USG) committed to leading and advancing the entertainment arts industry and its workforce in Georgia. GFA supports the Georgia Film Consortium (GFC), a unique-in-the-nation collaboration of the university system, the Technical College System of Georgia and independent institutions across the state.

Created by state leadership to meet education and workforce needs for high demand careers in Georgia’s film and creative industries, GFC works with more than 30 partner institutions to offer professional courses in film, television, live production, streaming and esports for college credit. Classes may also be taken as professional education through GFA.

GFC’s higher education program includes rigorous professional training and may lead to union-covered film and television production craft internships and placement in creative industry apprenticeships and associated jobs. In addition, GFA supports a graduate consortium of USG partner institutions offering master’s degrees in creative arts geared toward content creation in film, television and digital media.

GFA provides professional training in the form of post-production education and AVID editing certification. GFA also offers high school teacher training in content creation, production, post-production and esports in partnership with the Georgia Department of Education, providing professional film and television experiences and training as well as curriculum and resources to teachers across the state. Additionally, GFA hosts opportunities for high school students with summer camps in screenwriting, filmmaking, post-production and esports.

For more information, visit https://www.georgiafilmacademy.edu/.