MADISON, Wis. -- The Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education voted on Monday night to drop the controversial name of the new elementary school on the city's West Site.

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Originally named for Hmong Gen. Vang Pao, the board reconsidered the name because of Pao's arrest on charges that he was part of an effort to overthrow the Laotian government.

"Nobody goes into something like this looking for unforseen circumstances, especially ones that are challenging and that's what we've been handed," said board member Lucy Mathiak.

School Board President Arlene Silviera said before the meeting that she doesn't think the board would make any final decision on a name on Monday night, but would vote on whether to change the current name and how they might select a new one, WISC-TV reported.

Board members apologized to the Hmong community profusely but in the end voted 7-0 to remove the name from the new school, which is under construction. Board member Lawrie Kobza said that it's simply not the time to name a school after Vang Pao.

"We have to make sure that there's not a lot of controversy surrounding a school that children will attend," said Silviera.

General Vang Pao Elementary has sparked controversy for months, but the decision to start the school naming process from scratch is also getting mixed reviews, reported WISC-TV.

"I think it is painful, but there's hope that the school board members are thinking about changing its policy and with that discussion we hope that the intention is to work with us again," said Koua Vang, Executive Director of United Refugee Services and a Hmong community leader.

The board had originally approved the name unanimously earlier this spring, but the name sparked controversy even before Pao's arrest among some area residents. Opponents cited allegations that Pao was involved in drug trafficking and war crimes during the Vietnam war era.

Pao was recently arrested in California on Jun 4 along with 10 other Hmong leaders and charged in federal court in California with conspiracy to overthrow the communist Laotian government by killing officials and leveling government buildings.

Prosecutors contend Vang Pao masterminded the plot, which involved raising money to recruit a mercenary force and equipping a small army to launch coordinated attacks using anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers and C-4 explosives.

The issue divided the community, even before Pao's arrest, but there is hope now with a new start, it will bring everyone back together.

"There will be people who take this personally, there will be people who understand this and will try to move forward," said Shwaw Vang, a former board member.

"I think ultimately this should be a healing process for the community, I really think this has been so divisive and you know so many people thought that our intentions were not what they were," said Pao opponent Heidi Reynolds.

"I would hope that in the future we would have the whole community working together instead of two sides against eachother," said Vang.

The board does plan to consider amending the policy for choosing a school name to add categories that go beyond the current ones of either people or places of local or national prominence.

Some are also proposing the idea of only considering people who are deceased rather than alive.

Those will be discussed at the board's July 9 meeting.

The community will have to re-submit their suggestions for a name, even if they filled out the paperwork before.

The district won't accept submissions until after that July meeting, WISC-TV reported.

On Monday afternoon, hundreds of supporters marched and rallied around the federal courthouse in support of Pao and urging his release. (For more on this, see related story)

Vang Pao led CIA-backed Hmong forces in Laos against communists in the 1960s and 1970s. The conflict claimed thousands of lives. Many Hmong credit him with freeing them from oppression in southeast Asia and helping them build new lives in the U.S., where he immigrated in 1975.

A group of local Hmong leaders are suggesting other school names that would still honor the Hmong people. Names such as "Hmong Memorial Elementary School," "Haiv Hmong Elementary School" and "Hmong United Elementary School" are all choices on that list, WISC-TV reported.

Koua Vang, executive director of United Refugee Services, said that the alternate names should resolve the crisis.

"Most of the community here does not oppose Hmong (people)," he said. "They only oppose the person so we think that these three proposed names will satisfy everyone and bring everyone together."

When Vang Pao was selected as the school's name, there were four other finalists. They included "Linden Park," "Shirley Abrahamson" and "Paul Olson." The former honors one of Wisconsin's Supreme Court justices and the latter recognizes a longtime Madison educator, WISC-TV reported.

Board Approves New Teacher Contract

In related news, the board voted Monday evening to back a new contract with Madison's teacher's union that will mean both salary and benefits increases for nearly 2,400 teachers through the 2009 school year.

The deal, which the teacher's union approved last week, will give teachers a 1 percent base salary raise for each of the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years as well as 4 percent raise and a benefits hike. The two-year contract will run from July 1 to June 30, 2009.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.