A group of Eanes Elementary School parents plan two upcoming meetings to discuss their vision of how the school might be renovated to meet district goals for the future.

Ryan Keathley, an EES parent, said the group will hold a meeting Jan. 28 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the school library for parents and other stakeholders in the district’s bond issue. A second meeting is planned during the regular Parent Teacher Organization meeting on Feb. 4 from 8:15-9:15 a.m.

In an early version of a draft of projects for possible bond consideration, the Eanes school district recently suggested allocating $31 million for improvements and renovation to the nearly 50-year-old school campus. During a public forum held at the elementary school in October, district Superintendent Nola Wellman told a packed cafeteria that the campus needed updating to handle changing learning environments, technology and safety concerns. Parents in attendance responded immediately that they wanted careful changes to the campus environment and that they wanted to be included in the planning of those changes.

“Parents had a fairly strong reaction to the term ‘rebuilding’ Eanes Elementary School,” Keathley said.

Since the October meeting, the parent group has held regular meetings, met with school district administrators and given them and school board members an 18-page draft statement of community priorities for a campus redesign. The draft included a diagram of the property and what the parent group has identified as clear needs for change. He said the district had been very open in their communication with the parent group.

“We appreciate input from all of our families, including the ideas shared from the Eanes Elementary group, as we plan for the future of our facilities,” Wellman said. “Our board will work hard to develop a bond proposal that encompasses community input and values.”

Keathly said the parent group plans to go over the draft report during the Jan. 28 meeting and solicit input and other ideas from those attending.

“We have a vision of how the school might change,” he said. “We want to communicate that communitywide. We want everyone to be able to contribute to the dialogue. We want consensus.”