MADISON, Wis. -- Opponents of naming Madison's newest school after Hmong Gen. Vang Pao said that they have a new plan.

A group of parents said that they aren't changing their minds on renaming the school, but they would like to see a different Hmong name used.

The school will be built to the north of Hawk's Landing in the Linden Park neighborhood, WISC-TV reported.

Parents who oppose the name said they are concerned about Vang Pao as a role model for young people because of his alleged links to drug trafficking and war crimes. The group appeared before the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education on Monday to demand a name change.

"We think there are a lot of other names, Hmong names, that would have a lot more peaceful connotation to them that the whole community could be proud to have that name on a school," said opposition leader Heidi Reynolds.

For some in the Hmong community, Vang Pao is considered comparable to Martin Luther King Jr.

The opposition group didn't have a specific name to recommend to the school board, WISC-TV reported.

University of Wisconsin Professor Alfred McCoy, who wrote a book alleging Vang Pao's wrongdoings, suggested Lee Lue, a Hmong hero pilot, or Dr. Yang Pao, the first Hmong-American to earn a doctoral degree, as alternate names for the school.