Germantown doesn’t want to share its name

The city of Germantown wants its name all to itself. It has asked Shelby County Schools to change the names of three of its schools that have Germantown in their name — Germantown Elementary, Middle and High School — to avoid confusion, according to the Commercial Appeal.In exchange, Germantown would allow SCS non-exclusive rights to use Germantown athletic fields for school sports.The problem, according to Germantown Superintendent Jason Manuel, is that lawmakers and parents are confused that the three Germantown schools are not a part of the Germantown Municipal District.SCS Superintendent Dorsey Hopson said he is passing the naming decision on to the SCS board, according to the Commercial Appeal. Board members are looking to hear from the students, teachers and families at the three Germantown namesake schools before making a decision.But changing the names would not be cheap.  “There are all kinds of uniforms, insignia, signs, stationery,” Dorsey said in the Commercial Appeal.  “It’s not just a matter of saying we will change the name of the school.”If SCS doesn’t change the schools’  names, Manuel says SCS could still rent Germantown City athletic fields without an agreement. But SCS would not have priority. “There is so much competition for these fields and use of these fields,” Lawton said to The Commercial Appeal. “It would be low on the priority list. They are in city parks, built by taxpayer dollars, made available by the public.”An earlier version of this story mistakenly attributed the effort to change the school names to the GMSD.  The city, and not GMSD, owns the parks and is requesting the name change.