The Lawrence school board on Monday requested to know more about esports, including costs, before adopting it as a middle and high school activity.
Adoption of the new activity was originally on the board’s consent agenda — a list of business routinely approved in one motion unless a board member or the superintendent pulls an item for discussion — but was later changed to a regular business item as a preliminary update. The board did not take a vote Monday.
“For me, when this comes back up, I would really want to understand the financial commitment of the district given some of our pressing responsibilities, particularly those pertaining to wages and a couple of other areas that we’ve been working on,” board member Kelly Jones said.
Kansas State High School Activities Association board members voted in April to sanction esports beginning in the 2025-26 year.
Larry Englebrick, deputy superintendent, said costs are “manageable,” “within reason” and comparable to other KSHSAA activities. But board President GR Gordon-Ross asked which specific areas of district revenue that would incur program costs, which Englebrick said he’ll bring back to the board.
Most schools already have computer labs or classroom setups suitable for esports, but the district would likely need to purchase headsets, game licenses and other equipment. There may be costs for teams to travel, as well.
Board member Anne Costello asked about the specific type of equipment needed, as Englebrick mentioned the potential purchase of Nintendo Switch consoles. Englebrick also said PlayVS would donate the first Switch each team needs.
PlayVS, the platform KSHSAA is working with, plans to offer at least Rocket League, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for esports. Englebrick said PlayVS would cover the cost of the platforms for the first year in addition to the first year of an annual licensing fee required to participate.
The district would fill coach or sponsor positions internally and offer them payment via a stipend.
Lawrence Virtual School has an active club program, not sanctioned by KSHSAA, with teams that compete playing Rocket League, Fortnite and other games. Travis Matthews, LVS Class of 2025 graduate, and Eli May, LVS junior, shared their memories and successes with the board Monday.
“Esports kind of got me through high school,” Matthews said. “It kept me passing classes, and I think a lot of kids really look forward to something like this every semester.”
The growing activity lends itself to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning, and students who aspire to compete in college could be recruited or offered scholarships. The University of Kansas and Baker University, for example, have varsity programs, and Haskell Indian Nations University has a club team.
Costello said it’s valuable that esports reaches students who don’t otherwise participate in extracurriculars. Students participating in esports would have to meet the same academic eligibility requirements as other KSHSAA activities.
“These kids are able to talk to multiple friends at once, all play together and strategize, and really try to work together to accomplish things,” Costello said. “And I just think the opportunity is so amazing, and it would be such a huge miss if we didn’t go after it.”
Board Vice President Bob Byers said he’d be interested in the district gauging interest among middle and high schools right now. If later given approval by the board, the district would begin registering buildings.
Englebrick said the district previously had the understanding that KSHSAA would bring esports forth next year, in 2026-27, so the timeline to implement it this year is brief.
According to the KSHSAA projected calendar, esports teams could start practice in November and compete December through January.
Superintendent Jeanice Swift said administrators will gather as much information requested as possible before the board’s next meeting on Sept. 8. The district is participating in ongoing meetings with KSHSAA about implementation. It was unclear when the board will be asked again to vote.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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