Smithfield — After a heated debate last month, the Johnston County Board of Education was unanimous on Tuesday in choosing Powhatan Elementary as the name for a new K-5 school.

The board could have picked a name last month. But board member Donna White brought a letter to the meeting urging the board to consider the name Vinson Elementary.

The school is on Vinson Road, and the board does have a policy of naming schools for geographic locations. But White indicated that interest in naming the school Vinson Elementary was coming from the Vinson family. The board does not name schools for people.

Board chairman Kay Carroll said he called Turner Vinson after the last meeting “because I was concerned it became too controversial.”

Carroll said he wanted to make sure the family knew that board members supporting the Powhatan name meant no disrespect to the family. Carroll said Vinson told him he and his family supported the Powhatan name.

“There is a process we go through, and if we’re not careful, we can create more trouble than we need to,” Carroll said.