Name that school

School districts in Missouri aren't the only ones dealing with budget crunches. But districts in a couple of others states -- New Jersey and California -- have come up with a way to raise quite a bit of money in short order:

Naming rights.

Most of us have become accustomed to the impact corporate America has had in recent years at sports venues. Stadiums and field houses get names picked by big-time donors. Consider the ruckus at the University of Missouri-Columbia over the recent naming of the new basketball arena. Many sports events also have taken on corporate names.

In Brooklawn, N.J., near Camden, a 300-student district with one school building has decided to cash in on corporate naming. Students go to gym classes in the ShopRite of Brooklawn Center (named for a local grocery store) and check out books at the Flowers Library and Media Center (named for a local family). In both cases, the naming rights cost $100,000.

The Belmont-Redwood Shores School District in California is also looking for corporate partners, but the district doesn't intend to let sponsors rename the school. Instead, it's hoping for something along the lines of Central School, sponsored by Intel Corp.

Try fitting that into some cheers for the next football game.

Not everyone is happy with the corporate naming of public schools, which is still pretty rare.

But the New Jersey district is happy. Bruce Darrow, school board president, says, "The only thing I regret now is ShopRite got off so cheap."

Student nowadays wear clothing that boldly advertises the maker or designer and consume soft drinks dispensed by machines whose vendors have struck an exclusive deal with the district. Some districts allow limited advertising on school buses.

To many school administrators, a corporate name accompanied by a check with lots of zeros would be a welcome development.