BY ZACHARY REID

Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

The Richmond School Board tonight voted against approving a contract for a group to open and operate a charter school.

The board voted 4-4 with one abstention. Five votes were needed for the measure to pass.

The school still has a chance to get approval. Board Chairman George Braxton, explained that the measure can be revived if one of the four members who voted against it wants to bring it back.

Keith West, Chandra Smith, Evette Wilson and Joan Mimms voted against the measure.

Braxton, Vice Chairman Lisa Dawson, Kim Bridges and Betsy Carr voted in favor.

Carol A.O. Wolf abstained because her husband's law firm once represented a party involved in the issue. Braxton also works for that firm but as a recruiter and not a practicing attorney.

The School Board in May had voted 5-2 in favor of the application for the charter school at Patrick Henry, with the idea that it would open in July 2009. In doing so, the board was acting against a recommendation from an administration committee and against the advice of the board's lawyers.

The school was to be part of the city system but would be governed by its own board of directors. It would be open to students from throughout the city.

Richard Day, the head of the group proposing the school, met briefly with his group's lawyer and two School Board members after tonight's vote, then left. "We need to figure out what our legal options are," he said on his way out.

Contact Zachary Reid at zreid@timesdispatch.com