I’m not sure many people predicted the latest move coming in Germantown’s battle to reclaim three campuses in the suburb.

I mean Germantown officials under Mayor Mike Palazzolo have made no secret they want the 3Gs — Germantown elementary, middle and high schools — brought under the city’s education system. Ever since the trio was carved out of the Germantown Municipal School District and kept under the jurisdiction of Shelby County Schools, the suburb has tried to get them back.

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Most of the previous attempts came in negotiations to buy the campuses, the most notable effort coming in 2017 when Germantown was willing to pay $25 million for the trio. Each time, SCS wasn’t interested in considering the offer.

But as SCS turned a deaf ear to Germantown’s negotiations, the suburb had a bit of a trump card up its sleeve. Also in 2017, a pair of state attorney general opinions were issued saying basically that one jurisdiction shouldn’t operate schools within another education system’s boundaries.

In this case, according to Germantown’s reading of the opinion, that applied to Shelby County Schools overseeing the three campuses in that suburb. While no names were used in the AG’s opinion, the language would also seem to apply to Lucy Elementary inside the Millington borders.

Those opinions served as the pitchout to start an end run to Nashville and state law rather than continuing to run up the middle against the SCS resistance. And really, why not take the legislative route?

The strategy worked before, when state legislation led to the formation of the six Shelby County suburban municipal school districts, which opened in 2014.

There are some hurdles the bill might face in the process before reaching the floor, which could stall the move. But, if the idea passes, the next arena will be the courts.

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As for how the 3Gs near the oldest section of Germantown ended up under Shelby County Schools direction, well that has long been discussed. Of course, the official version is SCS’ need to serve the children south of Germantown in Memphis/Shelby County along the Germantown border, certainly a noble and well-intentioned reason.

Then there are other unofficial theories about why SCS wanted the schools bearing the Germantown name under its flag — a sort of capture of the namesake schools in the face of the de-merger battle, to keeping the campuses as a repercussion of something said during the negotiations for the campuses in Germantown to just plain stubbornness on the part of each side as these things were sorted out.

Whatever the reason — real or rumored — the result sure leads to some basic confusion. Certainly, having a Germantown school system without securing the legacy Germantown schools overall seems weird. Then to have a high school called “Germantown” under the county system while the Germantown district’s high school bears the name “Houston” leads to some explanation.

If Germantown is successful in wrestling away the 3Gs from SCS, that could solve some of that. There will be some drawbacks to getting the three older campuses — from the age and condition of the buildings to security questions at Germantown High with all the annexes, additions and expansions. There also are questions of whether Germantown really wants — or needs — a second high school.

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Right now, all of the municipal school districts have a single high school — the identity of the community. No split alliances. Millington with Millington High, Arlington with Arlington High, etc. etc.

And Germantown with Houston High.

I will predict one aspect similar to when the state Legislature opened the door in 2012 for the suburbs to start the municipal districts — this will start a lengthy legal fight. For whatever reason — necessity or as another resistance to the suburban districts — SCS isn’t going to just roll over and say to Germantown that it agrees with the new state law and a few attorney general opinions.

They are going to fight the idea.

I expect this will lead to legal challenges, maybe more negotiations and a lot of posturing on both sides saying they are right. Germantown arguing that the Germantown schools need to be under Germantown. SCS noting that giving those campuses to the suburb is not fair to the students who don’t live in Germantown but are part of the Red Devils community.

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And, yes, someone will pose the argument that the reason for all of this has to do with race. Not allowing students from outside Germantown to attend schools inside the suburban/municipal district.

I may not be able to predict the outcome or the length of the legal challenge to all of this, but I can assure you race will be a backdrop to the debate.

It always is.

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Some author once advised: Write on bourbon; edit on coffee. (Faulkner? Hemingway? Ace Atkins? Clay Bailey?)

Well, this column was wrapped up on Pfizer. Second dose. Single barrel (one shot injection). I’m not sure where that fits in the vices of writing, but if this column appears to go off the rails near the end, add that as a side effect to the Pfizer vaccine.