KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Knox County Board of Education on Thursday voted to approve an application for an all-boys charter school seeking to open in Knoxville.

The board approved the application of Knoxville Preparatory School, a privately-operated and publicly-funded charter school, by a vote of 5-4.

A previous vote to approve failed on April 7 with 5th district representative Susan Horn absent, the vote ended in a 4-4 split.

Horn joined board chair Kristi Kristy, vice chair Betsy Henderson, Steve Triplett and Mike McMillan in voting to approve the school. John Butler, Katherine Bike, Jennifer Owen and Daniel Watson voted against the resolution.

Knoxville Prep will teach grades 6-12 and will be run by the same group behind the all-boys Chattanooga Preparatory School. It plans to open to just sixth graders in 2024.

The application has been the subject of heavy scrutiny during the approval process. The Knoxville chapter of the NAACP issued a statement last month asking that the application be withdrawn, asserting that it would negatively impact who attend, “some of our most challenged public schools.”