MADISON, Wis. -- The union representing Madison teachers is urging the school board to reopen the naming process for a new West Side elementary school.

SURVEY: Do You Support The Name For The New School?

The Madison School Board recently voted to call it Vang Pao Elementary.

Pao is a hero of the Hmong community who helped the United States fight communists during the Vietnam War.

But University of Wisconsin-Madison history professor Alfred McCoy said that Pao is also a very controversial figure. McCoy said that Pao might have been involved in war atrocities and drug trafficking.

John Matthews, executive director for the teachers union, has sent a letter to the school board, WISC-TV reported.

In the letter, Matthews, "expressed concern about the potential negative impact on children attending the school if information set forth by professor McCoy's paper is accurate."

In the past, members of Madison's Hmong community have called similar suggestions made by the UW-Madison professor lies.