MADISON, Wis. —  A plan to name a new elementary school after a Hmong military leader is winning praise from Hmong but criticism by some who question his past, particularly his ties with the CIA.

The Hmong community says it's the first time their most prominent leader, General Vang Pao, has been honored with a public school in his name.

"It is a historic moment for the Hmong people," said Madison school board member Shwaw Vang, a Hmong who persuaded the board to unanimously approve the name last week. An Asian ethnic group, the Hmong in the U.S. came mainly from Laos as refugees after the Vietnam war.

But one board member said Monday she wants to reopen debate over the name.

Vang Pao led CIA-backed Hmong forces in Laos in a so-called secret war against communists in the 1960s and 1970s that 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.

Supporters say the name will give the local Hmong community a sense of belonging and recognize their contributions as allies during the Vietnam War.

But some call the decision irresponsible given Vang Pao's bloody history and other questionable dealings, and want the board to consider honoring another Hmong figure instead.

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"The objection that I have is that it's a person of violence and this is an elementary school," said Kristi Yeager, an accountant whose son and daughter will attend the school. "You try to teach the kids they're not supposed to fight at school but their school is named after a military leader."

A city commission tabled a proposal to name a park after Vang Pao in 2002 after University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Alfred McCoy questioned the general's past.

The move angered some in the Hmong community, who picketed outside McCoy's office. Some still feel slighted by the rejection.

McCoy said numerous published sources allege Vang Pao ordered executions "of his own soldiers, of enemy captives and political enemies."

McCoy wrote a 1972 book about the role of Vang Pao and the CIA in drug trafficking. He claims CIA operatives helped Vang Pao control opium exports from Hmong villages to unite them behind the secret army.

Vang Pao and his followers deny the allegations. A spokesman said in 2002 that McCoy had watched "too many Indiana Jones movies."

Vang Pao remains revered by many Hmong who left Laos to escape persecution after the war and settled in large numbers in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Shwaw Vang called the criticism of Vang Pao unfair, saying he only got caught up in a fight between the U.S. and communists on his soil.

"No one should bear the blame for that," he said. "Vang Pao is an honorable man."

The school board's vote came after Vang gave an emotional speech in English and Hmong. He praised Vang Pao for a commitment to education and called him "a compassionate, peace-loving, tireless leader for our community."

McCoy said the board, unlike the parks commission in 2002, "failed to do due diligence."

"Do you really name a school after a person who has allegations against him of having ordered cold-blooded murder? You check," he said.

Board member Carol Carstensen said she wants to reopen debate on the name to discuss the allegations, which only came to her attention after the vote.

"Until we have a broader discussion of these issues, they are not likely to be laid to rest," she said.

Board member Lucy Mathiak, a former student under McCoy who is an assistant dean at UW-Madison, said she was aware of Vang Pao's background, but the vote was not about him.

"This was about responding to a heartfelt request from a large number of people from this specific community," he said.

Vang Pao, 77, lives in California and attempts to reach him failed. Both Doua Vang, who organized the lobbying push for the name, and district spokesman Ken Syke said they had no contact information for him.

General Vang Pao was among 41 names the public proposed for the school, which is to open in fall 2008. Suggestions ranged from Henry Aaron to Ronald Reagan.

The Hmong, who have a population of about 4,000 in the area, formed a committee to lobby for the name. They submitted a lengthy proposal, including a short biography and pictures of Vang Pao reading to children.

Hundreds of people signed petitions supporting the request. Dozens of letters from Hmong poured in from Oklahoma to South Carolina, some recounting journeys from the jungles of Laos to careers in the U.S.

Yer Vang of Woodbury, Minn., wrote that he came to the U.S. in 1977 as a frightened 14-year-old but later became an optometrist because Vang Pao "opened the door to education and to a better life for me."

School Superintendent Art Rainwater said he was aware of allegations against Vang Pao but said schools have long been named after controversial figures.

"This was the individual the Hmong community brought forward," he said.

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