Whitehaven STEM lab project remains behind schedule due to funding woes

A rendering of the Whitehaven STEM lab.

Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. called on local officials to work together and figure out how to cover the remaining costs needed to construct a new STEM education lab at Whitehaven High School at Wednesday's Shelby County Commission Education Committee meeting. 

Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. called on Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials to help fund the Whitehaven STEM lab at Wednesday's Shelby County Commission meeting. (Screenshot/Brandon Paykamian) 

Ford arrived at Wednesday’s commission meeting wearing a hard hat and carrying a shovel to remind officials that district leadership had already held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility in April. He said the $9.5 million capital project still needs an additional $2.3 million from the Memphis-Shelby County school board in order to move forward.

Ford noted that those remaining funds had already previously been promised by Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials, who have still not fulfilled their end of the deal amid recent leadership changes in the district. He said the project aimed to answer local community members’ calls for a facility devoted to building students’ science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related skills to better prepare them for future jobs.

“We’re going to get it done one way or another,” he said, prompting applause from some attendees.

Ford thanked the commission for recently allocating about $1.55 million to put toward the project. He said much of the rest of the funding so far has also come from local fundraising efforts. However, he said he thinks the district needs to step up to fulfill its earlier commitments, adding that the project was originally scheduled to be completed by next year.

Ford said construction should’ve already started in the spring but is now months behind, due to recent funding woes that have put the project in limbo. He implored officials to prioritize the project.

“The community – District 9 as well as some other communities – raised private dollars in order for us to get to this particular point … I want to say about $7 million was privately raised,” he said. “We’re talking about a $10 million building, and all the school system has to do is honor $2.3 million. Now, if you were going to get something for $10 million and all you had to do was just put $2.3 million up, that should be easy-peasy. If it was, we would not be here today. A lot of people from the Whitehaven community would not be here today.

“We’ve done our part, the constituents have done their part, the Whitehaven community has done their part. It’s time for Memphis-Shelby County Schools to do their part,” he added. “If a group promises something – and I don’t care if was two years ago with a different superintendent – they need to honor their promise.”

Ford said he wants to see local and school officials reach some kind of resolution in the coming days amid ongoing county budget discussions. He added that he is hopeful that the board, which elected four new members last week, will help play a role in building the new STEM center.

“We shouldn’t have to do the job of the school board. We just elected some people. Hopefully they do the right thing. We’ll see,” he said.  “I sincerely hope with the dialogue we have in Budget and Finance, as well as some conversation on Monday, we can get it done. This is not difficult."

Justin Jones, a local parent and donor to the STEM building, was one of several community members who came out to join Ford in his call to get the project underway. He said he wants to see his investments finally come to fruition once funding issues are worked out. He also implored local officials to prioritize the project moving forward.

“I personally donated to make sure [this project is funded] because I saw that the vision that was put forth to bring this STEM building to the Whitehaven community was going to pay off,” he said. “We want our people to be internationally competitive.”

If completed, the new STEM lab facility would continue efforts to build STEM literacy in the Whitehaven community, including the recent Tennessee STEM/STEAM School Designation for 2024 from the Tennessee Department of Education and Tennessee STEM Innovation Network for nearby Whitehaven Elementary School. The annual designation is given to schools across the state who serve as STEM education models for other schools to follow.