The president of the board of Ethel Hedgeman Lyle Academy announced tonight that the charter school will be allowed to exist for at least one more year.

The troubled academy’s sponsor, Missouri Baptist University, had told the school that the university would not continue to sponsor the school’s two downtown campuses after this current school year. Charter schools must be sponsored by a university or school district by state law.

But EHLA board President Tommy Davis announced at tonight’s meeting that he had received an e-mail just a few hours prior saying that the university had agreed to sponsor the 850-student school for one more year, as long as the charter agreed to an additional provision.

He did not discuss the provision, but said that it was “nothing major” and would not be a problem to get done.

“We will be sponsored by Missouri Baptist for another year,” he said.

The crowd applauded. Parents and teachers said they were relieved.

“We didn’t have any other options,” said parent board member Dollie Nesbitt, who has two children at the charter schools. “I would hate to send my kid to St. Louis Public.”

It’s been a tough couple of years, parents said. Their children endured a lot, as the school leadership changed, the high school moved into a new building, and the organization had to hire many new staffers.

Still, it was unclear if Missouri Baptist would continue sponsoring the school after next year, or if it was simply giving leaders another year to find a new sponsor.

The night’s meeting, in the end, was cancelled. Too few board members arrived to have a quorum.