Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI is promising to repair and renovate four Memphis-Shelby County schools located near its two new data centers in Southwest Memphis.
That agreement, approved by the MSCS school board on Tuesday, will offer some relief to the district’s growing deferred facility maintenance needs. But it also pulls the district into a controversial project that’s sparked community backlash.
The four schools included in xAI’s plan – John P. Freeman Optional, Fairley High, Mitchell High, and Westwood High – have some of the most dire building repair needs in the district, according to The Daily Memphian, estimated to cost $61 million over the next decade. The AI company is committing to plumbing and HVAC upgrades, as well as construction of new technology classrooms…