(Germantown, TN) Germantown parents aren’t sure where their children will go to school next year after a surprising decision by the Shelby County School Board.
Tuesday, for the first time, Germantown Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy spoke out about the county’s decision to keep three schools inside her city.
Mayor Goldsworthy is meeting with city officials to try to come up with a plan to keep the schools.
Her own daughter went to Germantown Elementary, Middle and High schools, and she knows all about the pride associated with those schools.
“Our schools represent more than just a place where kids learn. They`re really communities unto themselves,” said Goldsworthy.
As of now the Shelby County School District says when Germantown starts its own school district next year it can only lease three elementary schools along with Houston Middle and High.
This decision keeps Germantown Elementary Middle and High as Shelby County schools.
Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy is trying to stay positive after this surprising setback.
“Even though that was their official action they are expressing a willingness to continue the conversation,” said Goldsworthy.
So Goldsworthy spent Tuesday in meetings to come up with a plan to get the schools back, but at this point the details are unknown.
The board thinks the county should keep the schools because most of the students actually live in the county, not within the city limits.
“Those schools are very much the fiber of this community and there is incredible history and tradition, and certain the fact that they are named after Germantown,” said Goldsworthy.
Losing the students also means losing some state and federal funding, but the mayor says that’s not what this is about.
“We have never looked at the opportunity to educate those children as a way of feeding the budget,” said Goldsworthy.
Goldsworthy says there are still a lot of unknowns out there like what will happen to the children of Germantown residents who go to the schools. She says they could be sent to other schools like Houston Middle and High.
According to the board’s decision last night, all the other municipalities will get to lease all of the schools within their city limits, with the exception of Lucy Elementary in Millington.
