The New Covenant Charter School's brief respite ended almost as soon as it began.


For the second time in a week, the State University of New York board of trustees voted to close the school. Trustees were required to hastily reassemble a meeting Monday after the legality of last week's vote was called into question because too many trustees abstained from the vote.


On Monday, six trustees voted to close the school. Four abstained because of potential conflicts of interest. Trustee H. Carl McCall declined to vote because he said SUNY should focus on higher education and not the authorization of charter schools.


Board Chairman Carl Hayden said the second vote was necessary because a SUNY lawyer was incorrect in assuming last week's vote was valid. Hayden called for another vote for transparency.


"We want to eliminate whatever ambiguity might still exist," he said.


There are 17 seats on the board, and one is currently open; a quorum of eight is required for board votes to be legitimate. This time, the vote counts because there were more affirmative votes than abstentions. Only five trustees voted participated in last week's vote, which was 4 -1 in favor of closing the school.


Kevin Quinn, of the Whiteman Osterman & Hanna law firm, protested the vote against New Covenant last week. The firm sent a second letter arguing that the school should have its charter renewed just hours before the revote.


On Monday, Albany schools spokesman Ron Lesko praised the revote, which he said caused a "nerve-racking weekend" for parents at two elementary schools that could have closed if New Covenant was not shuttered. He said Albany schools are prepared to handle all of the students displaced by the closure. The move will send more than $3 million and up to 400 students back to Albany public schools.


For two years in a row, SUNY's Charter Schools Institute had recommended the school be closed because it had not met academic benchmarks and because of its financial troubles. While during the last school year 67 percent of students passed the English Language Arts exam, up from 30 percent in the 2005-06 year, that was still short of the 75 percent trustees wanted to see. The Institute also noted that New Covenant's expenses outstripped revenues by $1,700 per student.


Pedro Noguera was the only trustee who voted last week to keep the school open. He said he changed his vote Monday for the sake of closure. "Having this issue prolonged is not in the best interest of the school," he said.


Scott Waldman can be reached at 454-5080 or by e-mail at swaldman@timesunion.com