Houston High has seen a few changes since it opened in 1989, but the Germantown Board of Education is beginning to think about the long-term future and improvements to the high school.

During a recent Board of Education meeting, Fleming Architects presented a few scenarios to the suburban school district, giving the high school an overdue facelift. If the board were to accept all of Fleming’s recommendations, the price could run as high as $133 million to $145 million. Whether they take the most expensive route will depend on studies and public meetings regarding the improvements.

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There will be community and stakeholder input through town hall-type sessions as the board wants priorities to reflect the desires of the community. The board has not taken any action to this point. It’s still in conceptual phases.

“We’re just getting the party started,” Angela Griffith, school board chairwoman, said by phone.

Fleming presented two options, but both include a significant change in appearance to the school’s dated look from Wolf River Boulevard.

“We are going to create a place where the community will want to come,” Scott Fleming, president of Fleming Architects, said. “Where people who are looking to move to Germantown will say, ‘That’s where I want my children to be a part.’”

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One option includes a new three-story classroom wing, increased surface parking and a new performing arts center. Both plans include a new fine arts wing, a new courtyard and a 300-seat lecture hall.

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However, a second option would keep some existing space and only include a two-story classroom wing. The second plan also includes a parking garage. The first plan would increase the current parking from 716 spaces to 1,187. The garage option would take the total parking spaces to 1,263.

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Sports were not excluded from consideration.

“This addresses all the athletic components,” Fleming said. “I think the only athletics we don’t address are swimming and golf.”

Both plans envision a new football practice field with an eight-lane practice track. It also presents a new indoor practice facility, a perk at Collierville High, Fleming noted. There also is a proposal to slightly shift the baseball stadium so baseball and football can share a plaza area. A new football stadium is also suggested. The gym and locker rooms would be renovated under both plans with a wrestling gym included in the conceptual plans.

Fleming wants the campus to have a collegiate feel. While then-Shelby County Schools opened Houston in 1989, it’s now a Germantown school, and he acknowledged it should reflect the city and district’s high standards. The building must be designed to meet current and future needs, Fleming said.

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During last Wednesday’s school board meeting, Griffith noted she has anticipated this for a while. Bartlett City Schools set an example of reinvesting in its existing high school facilities, while getting the support of the community. BCS used a public relations firm to gain the suburb’s support.

“I’ve spoken to some of our aldermen and the mayor about (Bartlett),” Griffith said. “It’s certainly a group effort.”

She said GMSD is going to engage the elementary and middle school families to help them envision future Mustangs at a top-notch campus.

“We want a brand standard,” she said. “Our community expects and deserves a level of facility that certainly makes us competitive.”

She said without the facilities to support the exceptional programming at Houston High, Germantown could be set apart in a negative way. She noted more people are bound to Shelby County with BlueOval City on the horizon. Families moving to the area should want to be part of GMSD and Houston High School.

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Student committee work is already underway. After further community input, GMSD’s board will vote on how to move forward. Fleming noted if they went with all the options presented in a plan design work, furniture, fixtures, equipment and construction costs could range from approximately $133.3 million to $145 million.

The more expensive option includes the garage, but the parking decision will drive a lot of factors. Fleming said he’d recommend the $133 million option.

Board member Brian Curry said the price was “staggering,” although, after a recent visit to Lakeland’s new high school wing, he knows there is a significant need for improvement.

David Pickler, president of the Houston High Athletics and Arts Foundation, said Collierville High School was funded by the residents and the tax base. Private funds could be raised for Houston’s improvements, but state and local funding will likely be required to cover the majority of the cost. He said the vision has to be set before determining the price tag.

“It all has to begin with this board and this community deciding what it is you want to have,” Pickler said. “This has to be a vision everyone embraces.”

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