GERMANTOWN, Tenn. — As the city of Germantown works to buy out Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), MSCS officials are asking for a potential new high school to be built if the buyout goes through. The cost is estimated to be between $110 million and $125 million.
The city of Germantown offered Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS) $5 million to buy out the "3G" schools, according to an email from MSCS.
Marcus Cox, whose daughter is a sophomore at Germantown High School, said the process feels rushed.
“The thing that really frustrates me is the lack of transparency from the Tennessee legislature, the city of Germantown leadership," Cox said.
The city of Germantown and MSCS have not made a final decision but officials say establishing a new high school is one of several options being discussed as the fate of Germantown Elementary, Middle, and High schools, often called the “3Gs”, remain up in the air.
“We’re attempting to see all of the stories right now, see all of the sides before we make a decision," commissioner Miska Clay-Bibbs said.
The state law that goes into effect Jan 1. allows MSCS to continue operating in the 3G schools. It also allows current students to finish their education there.
“Dirty politics to be quite frank," Cox said. "In a way that seems very quiet under the wraps, under the table, let’s hurry and scurry it through.
Cox says no matter what happens to these three Germantown schools, families will still have their Germantown spirit.
“That you can’t take away," Cox said. "Tear down the building, whatever; the name will always stay with those young men and women and others that have invested into that school, invested into that community."