Eanes school board members gave district Superintendent Nola Wellman the green light during a board meeting on April 29 to move forward with the purchases of two pieces of land. Wellman said the properties, whose price offers were not identified, would be paid for with money from a $2.1 million district fund of money from the sale of district real properties.

The first is a quarter-acre property Wellman said was currently for sale adjacent to Eanes Elementary School. She said the property would be used for an expansion and remodeling of the elementary campus.

The second property is a previous fitness facility located in a commercial property on Walsh Tarlton Lane adjacent to the Hill Country Middle School tennis courts. Wellman said the second property would be used for the district’s 19+ program now housed in a portable on the Cedar Creek Elementary School campus. She said the facility is on a city of Austin bus line, which 19+ students could catch to travel off campus.

“Having that independence is critical for students who might be able to go to work-study as they leave our school district,” Wellman said.

The 19+ program is an extension of special education services to students up to the age of 22 who are preparing to age out of the district’s educational programs.

Board member James Kallison said he had visited the district’s current facility on the CCES campus.

“The staff over there is doing a marvelous job, but it is clearly an inadequate facility for that population,” he said. “It is going to be particularly inadequate as that population doubles as predicted in the near future.”

Ellen Balthazar said she supported the project because it the news 19+ space would be located in a commercial center, giving students more contact with other adults in a real-world setting.

Wellman said she would continue by making offers on the property. If those offers are not accepted, she said the district could choose to exercise its power of eminent domain to acquire the properties. She said if the prices for the two properties exceeded the $2.1 million available in the fund, she would bring the matter before the board again for reconsideration.