Vang Pao Elementary School Groundbreaking

Andy Hall:

A windswept field on Madison's Far West Side became a place of reverence Wednesday for 60 Hmong residents who attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Vang Pao Elementary, a $12.9 million school whose funding was embraced by taxpayers but whose name remains controversial.

"I just want to take this as a memory," explained Bee Vang, 47, as he held a softball-sized clod of warm, moist earth. "This will be a really great school."

Vang said he will show his four children the dirt and tell them that school leaders spoke of giving all people, including Hmong, the opportunity to learn.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 26, 2007 12:04 AM
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