MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County plans to give Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS) $72 million to build a new high school in the Cordova area. This settles negotiations between MSCS, the county, and the city of Germantown.
But a lot of parents worry the plan is short on details.
The man who led the negotiations County Mayor Lee Harris says
The deal announced just this past Monday has two of Germantown's‘ 3G' schools becoming the property of Germantown, and also provides a new high school for the Cordova area.
“This gives a path forward for those displaced families," Mayor Harris said. "There’s probably about eighteen hundred or so families that are wondering ‘what comes next.”
This path forward. as Mayor Harris calls it, ends an almost 10-year dispute over who owns Germantown Elementary, Middle, and High schools.
Although the exact terms of the agreement are still unclear, what we know so far is it allows up to 9 years for this transition to take place.
How that will look is also unclear, as of yet, but the mayor says at least in the near future, students will stay right where they are until that new high school is built.
"Nothing’s going to happen tomorrow or the next day or the next year,” Mayor Harris said. “We are very hopeful that that high school will be built and open way before the 9-year transition period. But the point is we want to leave plenty of ramping room."
As far as who will pay for the new $125 million high school, $72 million will come from Shelby County government, $5 million from the city of Germantown, and a still unknown amount from the sale of one of the 3G schools, which most presume is Germantown High School.
But parents worry MSCS is giving up too much for too little and they don’t like all the unanswered questions.
The district saying the focus right now is securing funding...And then feedback.
“Right now we’re trying to make sure we have the guaranteed funding to build a new school for our students," MSCS' Dr. Cathryn Stout said. "But when it comes to the next stage the planning, the transitional stage we actually want to hear from parents; we want input from parents, we want input from students, we want input from staff.”
All of the parties must approve of the agreement, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners and the MSCS board will vote next week. Also Germantown’s Board of Aldermen.
Officials say all of the details of this transition plan will be released tomorrow in writing.