Richmond will get its charter school, if contract details can be settled in 90 days, the School Board decided last night.

The School Board voted 5-2 in favor of the application for the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts. The K-5 program is slated to open in July 2009. The School Board acted against a recommendation from an administration committee and against the advice of the board's lawyers.

The committee had said there are still issues, particularly with curriculum, financing and the school building, that need to be resolved. The lawyers said that once the application is approved, it becomes the contract and would no longer be open to negotiation.

Chairman George P. Braxton II and Vice Chairwoman Lisa Dawson joined members Kimberly Bridges, Betsy Carr and Keith West in voting for the school. Evette L. Wilson and Chandra Smith opposed it. Carol A.O. Wolf abstained, and Joan T. Mimms was not at the meeting.

"The application is not perfect, but it's good," Braxton said. "I don't want perfection to be the enemy of progress."

Richard Day, who is the president of the group that put together the application, said he had wanted a unanimous vote.

"It's a hollow victory," he said.

Yesterday was the last day of a 30-day window that the board had to vote on the application.

Braxton voted despite a plea from the Richmond Council of PTAs that he recuse himself because he is employed by a law firm that did some free work for the Patrick Henry group. Wolf, whose husband is a partner with the firm, recused herself from voting. Braxton said he was far removed from the process and didn't see a conflict, real or perceived.

Smith and Wilson, who cast the two opposing votes, said they did not think the School Board followed correct procedures for holding meetings. Wilson said she was worried that by allowing this group to proceed, it would open the door for any other group that wants to create a school. They also were concerned about voting against the advice of legal counsel.

After 18 months of working on the proposal, the Patrick Henry group can now prepare for three more months of ironing out details.

The school is slated to open in July 2009 in the former Patrick Henry Elementary School building on Semmes Avenue in South Richmond. Plans call for it to use an integrated approach to curriculum, promoting learning by combining subject matter to create comprehensive lesson plans. It will operate year-round on a progressive quarter calendar. School begins in late July and runs through late June, with breaks between quarters.

The school will be part of the city system but will be governed by its own board of directors.

The school will be open to students from throughout the city.

Earlier yesterday, the state NAACP held its second news conference in two business days to voice opposition to the plan.

"This fight didn't just start. It's been going on for a decade," King Salim Khalfani, executive director of the state branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said by phone yesterday afternoon.

He said he would continue to fight the school, even though "it's a fait accompli."

By state law, the School Board's vote is final and can't be appealed.
Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or zreid@timesdispatch.com.