ALBANY – A committee of the State University of New York’s board of trustees yesterday voted to approve an application by the New York City teachers union to start a charter school in Brooklyn, meaning the state’s first such union-backed school is likely to open this fall.

The vote came three weeks after members of the university board’s charter schools committee raised concerns about the United Federation of Teachers application. The full 16-member board is expected to vote on the application within weeks. It is now almost certain to approve the school, which would be located in East New York.

Because the UFT is officially opposed to lifting the current statewide cap of 100 charter schools, activists in favor of and opposed to charter schools, or independent public schools, had eagerly anticipated yesterday’s vote. One member of the charter schools committee has even suggested that the UFT application is inherently inconsistent for this reason.

Yet the board member, Secretary of State Randy Daniels, said disagreeing with the union on education policy should not influence his vote on its charter school application. Mr. Daniels said he will recommend approval of the union-backed charter school on its merits, even as he called on the union’s president to change her position on the cap.

“I would call on Randi Weingarten, president of the UFT, to lend her voice to support of lifting of this cap,” Mr. Daniels said after the vote. “Clearly, if we ultimately grant this charter, it tells us that the UFT believes in charter schools, and I don’t see how you can believe in charter schools and continue to support a cap.”

Ms. Weingarten responded by signaling she might reconsider her position. In a statement issued just hours after the meeting, Ms. Weingarten said: “There are some legitimate issues about the cap, and I am willing to engage in conversations about it.” She also expressed concern that time may be running out on her application.

Prior to making its decision, the committee revisited several issues raised at its last meeting. Some committee members had questioned the school’s math curriculum, its governance structure, and its lack of a provision for longer school days (most charter schools allow for longer school days than public schools).The Charter Schools Institute, an organization established to review applications, responded to those concerns in a memo issued to board members earlier this week.

The institute, which has recommended approving the UFT application, defended the model by appealing to schools in which a similar governance structure and curriculum has worked. It also responded to the concern regarding governance with an amendment to the original UFT application that names Ms. Weingarten an ex officio member of the school’s board of directors. Mr. Daniels had said the union must be accountable for the school’s performance and specifically called for the change.

The vote was unanimous, but not entirely without dissent. The most vocal critic of the application, Candace de Russy, said concerns she raised at the last meeting had not been adequately addressed. Speaking at the meeting via telephone, Ms. de Russy said she was opposed to the application but could not officially vote because she was not physically present.

Another board member who voiced criticism at the last meeting, Aminy Audi, did not participate in yesterday’s meeting.

Another point of tension involved Mr. Daniels and a fellow member of the charter schools committee, Edward Cox, each of whom is expected to seek statewide office as Republicans next year. Mr. Daniels has said he would consider running for governor if Governor Pataki decides not to. Mr. Cox, a Manhattan lawyer who is a son-in-law of Richard Nixon, has set up an exploratory committee for a possible race against Senator Clinton.

Some have suggested the two might use the charter-school vote as a way to curry favor with the politically powerful UFT. After the meeting, Mr. Cox told The New York Sun that he “deeply resents” what he described as the implication in a New York Post editorial yesterday that he would use his position for such a purpose. Mr. Daniels said he would not expect to win the favor of the UFT in any case.

“Anyone who suggests that is way off base,” Mr. Cox said. “And I deeply resent the Post implying that. We’re going to run this process with integrity and follow the dictates of the law. Our objective is to authorize good charter schools, and if you don’t do that with integrity, you’re lost.”

Another underlying issue regarding the UFT’s application was the applicant itself. At the preliminary meeting on the issue last month, Ms. De Russy questioned whether the union should be allowed to charter a school at all.

“The UFT already has a great deal of control over the management and operation of so many schools and, as we know, many of these schools are not high-performing,” Ms. De Russy said at the time. “They are not living up to what we who are responsible for these charter schools are aspiring to. Why are we expending our few remaining charters on this group?”

Ms. DeRussy’s concerns yesterday dealt with the proposed school’s math curriculum, governance model, and school day.

“I certainly respect Randi Weingarten and the UFT for their desire to improve the lot of the children of East New York,” she said. “However, I cannot support their application on grounds of its merit. … I’m not persuaded we should invest our previous few remaining charters in this seriously flawed school model on three counts. Moreover, I do not believe we should grant one of our last charters to the union when it has had the option of converting an unlimited number of public schools into charter schools.”

According to the 1998 law allowing for the establishment of charter schools in the state, no more than 100 such schools may be chartered. A bill before the state Senate calls for lifting the cap in New York City. Messrs. Daniels and Cox said yesterday they would push the Legislature to lift the cap, and said they hope to enlist Ms. Weingarten in the cause.

“I think we’re getting to the point where decisions are being made,” Mr. Cox said, “and I would expect everyone involved, including Randi Weingarten, to come out in favor of lifting the caps.”