The historic Germantown school building on Comstock Street will remain in the spot at the top of the hill it has held for more than 100 years, and it will continue to serve students and educators.
Germantown City Council has passed two ordinances that will effectively give the Germantown school building to Germantown Christian Schools. According to their website, Germantown Christian is a ministry of the Abundant Life Tabernacle, a Full Gospel, Pentecostal fellowship of believers.
In a statement from earlier this year, Valley View Superintendent Andrea Cook said, “As a public school district, we are unable to sell the Germantown building outright to Germantown Christian Schools. Therefore, we are working on a contract that will allow us to transfer the building to the City of Germantown, so that they can transfer ownership of the building to Germantown Christian School. The building transfer will hold a nominal price of $10.”
The City ordinances transfer the building from the City to Germantown Christian School and create a lease agreement for use of the parking lot between the City and Valley View Schools with Germantown Christian Schools so that Valley View can continue to use the parking lot for sporting events.
In a statement this week, Germantown Mayor Terry Johnson said, “The City is now waiting on Valley View to finalize their paperwork and sign the agreements with the City so the City can then give the building to Germantown Christian Schools.”
The Valley View Performing Arts Committee will continue to use the building’s auditorium for its performances and is storing and maintaining its extensive costume collection on the building’s third floor.
When asked about the financial benefit to the City, spokesperson Will Parsons said in a statement, “To be clear, this was never intended as a money-making venture for the City; this endeavor was purely done as a means of assisting the community through the preservation of a historical building that holds significance for many residents, which more practically also prevents a future blighted structure.”
Germantown Tax Benefits
The approximately 20 employees of Germantown Christian will pay Germantown’s 1.50% income tax on their wages. “This [transaction] will not have any effect on the JEDD,” Parsons said.
The Valley View JEDD was formed in 2021 as a joint agreement among the City of Germantown, the Village of Farmersville and Jackson and German Townships. The JEDD was created in part to address the loss of income tax that would result from moving Valley View schools to German Township.
The JEDD collected $152,666 in taxes from workers on the school site, teachers, and staff at Valley View in 2025. As prescribed in the JEDD contract, after fees, remaining JEDD income tax revenues (“Distributable Revenues”) shall be allocated among the Contracting Parties as follows: German Township 35%, Jackson Township 10%, Village of Farmersville 20%, and City of Germantown 35%.
Farmersville School
The former school in Farmersville was demolished in March and April of 2026. Valley View still owns the land and is getting it appraised before taking next steps. Previous attempts by the Village of Farmersville to secure the land from the school did not end in a deal. See Farmersville School Land Timeline.
© 2026 Twin Creek Times