MSCS says costs of building new high schools in Frayser, Cordova have doubled. Here's why
Patrice Thomas, Chief of Strategic Planning Operations for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, told Shelby County commissioners Wednesday that there was a huge hurdle to overcome as increased costs mean the prior agreed-upon costs for two new high schools have doubled.
Thomas said the previously allocated amount in the Shelby County Government's budget for East Region High School project is roughly $77 million. The Germantown High School will be sold, and the sale would yield in between $10 million and $20 million, that money would go towards the building of the East Region High School.
The additional costs associated with the East Region High School project are largely due to inflation. The funding gap for the East Region High School is roughly $100 million.
"So what we know is that we do have a huge hurdle that we need to get over in order to be able to ensure that we can move forward," Thomas said.
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Michael Winter of 4F Design said that the new total cost is now over $212 million.
Thomas said there are avenues they are exploring to fund the added costs, which are due to inflation and rising construction costs. Some ideas include reducing the scope of the project, changing the materials to reduce costs and "Shelby County Funding Prioritization."
Commissioner Britney Thornton pointed out that the additional costs are the equivalent of an entirely new project.
"We're talking about over $100 million that we're projecting because of inflation costs; we will need to come up with so per our initial conversations, that's a whole new school," Thornton said. "I struggle because we're not talking about all students. We're talking about these students. And my issue with MSCS is just the lack of comprehensive planning that comes with creating an allocating resources for some."
Construction is slated to start in the fall of 2024, with major construction beginning in winter 2024 for the East Region High School. The opening date is expected to be fall 2027.
The building will have multiple athletic fields, with greenspace in a courtyard area within the school. Thomas said they wanted to make sure that students have nice views and a pleasant building to learn and grow in.
As for the new high school in Frayser, Brad Schmiedicke of A2H Engineers, Architects and Planners also gave a comprehensive update on the school building project.
The new projected total cost for the Frayser High School is over $170 million, but the initial funding allocated from the county was around $80 million. MSCS included ways to close the funding gap with state and federal grants in addition to Shelby County Government funding prioritization.
Commissioner David C. Bradford also pointed out that because of the county clerk's inaccurate reporting of the revenue from the wheel tax, there is no way to know if that added tax is coming up with the dollars needed for the project.
"Obviously, we passed the $25 wheel tax and to date, we don't know how much money that's raised. So it could be a concern that there's not near month as we thought or there could be more so this may be less of a discussion item," Bradford said.
Brooke Muckerman covers Shelby County Government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter @BrookeMuckerman.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis-Shelby County Schools projects costs of new high schools have doubled
