Dallas school trustees met Thursday night for what they hoped would be a simple matter of restating, for the record, that the name of its well-regarded downtown arts magnet school has not changed.

The board had hoped to affirm that the school is still Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. But after about two dozen citizens showed up to protest the board's clarification, trustees pulled back. They decided to come back next month with a solution that, they hope, will make alumni and current students at the school happy, while also honoring a local philanthropist.

At issue is a sign hung recently on a new addition to the arts magnet. The sign reads "Hamon Arts Magnet" in honor of resident Nancy Hamon, who donated $10 million to the school's renovation. That has angered some who feel that the sign gives the wrong impression that the school's name has been changed. For many years, the institution was the city's only black high school.

Citizens at the meeting made it clear that they wanted the sign bearing Ms. Hamon's name taken down. Dr. Hinojosa asked to have the item pulled from the meeting's agenda to give administrators time to come up with a solution.

This was the second consecutive board meeting where trustees were confronted by black residents angry about the naming of a district building. Last month, trustees voted against renaming the district's central administration building after former board member Kathlyn Gilliam, who is black.

At the meeting, the board also voted to allow the district to negotiate with three management companies to oversee construction projects in its newly approved bond program. The firms are DMJM, Jacobs Engineering and Parsons Commercial Technology Group.

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