Life Skills Center of Denver was on life support coming into the Board of Education meeting Thursday night. But after a 6-1 vote to shut it down, all that's left for the charter school now is a long-shot appeal to the state Board of Education.

The vote was so difficult that board member Michelle Moss could barely choke out her "aye" vote in favor of the district's recommendation not to renew Life Skills charter agreement with Denver Public Schools.

Jeannie Kaplan bemoaned the fate of the students attending the school. Most are classified as at-risk or troubled students who have dropped out of DPS before.

"This is a situation where adults have failed the children," she said.

Life Skills entered into a charter agreement under Ohio-based White Hat Management in 2004, as an alternative to students having a hard time making it in traditional schools. But it was plagued with low test scores, poor attendance, poor retention of students and complaints by the district that White Hat was getting paid for claiming to serve more students than it did.

The contention between Life Skills and district staff grew sour enough that neither side could even agree on attendance rates and the time frame in which to count them.

Life Skills Superintendent Benjamin Valdez said they counted from July 10, 2005, to June 30, 2006, and showed more than 56 percent attendance. But the district says it was 45 percent.

Valdez said that things were sluggish under the previous administration, but are showing greater improvement under Principal Santiago Lopez.

Lopez has been on the job for a little more than a year and has replaced all but three staffers from the previous administration. He was visibly upset after the board vote.

"These are students DPS has already failed," he said.

One thing that district staff and Life Skills did agree on was the count of former Manual High School students who attended Life Skills after the district closed Manual. That number was three.

It was a key point and one of the main reasons that Board Member Kevin Patterson voted against the recommendation not to renew the charter.

"It seemed to me we were willing to uproot the kids and have the conversation about it afterwards," Patterson said. "And it's not the kids' fault."

Some of those kids showed up at the board meeting, along with dozens of staff and teachers at Life Skills.

Jaydeina Martinez, a 19-year- old junior, said that she hoped to graduate and eventually land a career in child care services.

But with the prospect of Life Skills shutting down, she figured she would have to try to get into Emily Griffith Opportunity School. If that didn't work, the young mother saw a bleak future.

The district said it plans to help all 279 students and will provide counseling and services to guide them to other educational opportunities. That process will begin March 5, and the district hopes to have them lined up at new schools by April 16.

monterod@rockymountainnews.com or 303-954-5236