Stadium turf, AC projects are completed

The Eanes school district has completed the first project paid for with the bond funds that voters approved in 2015.

Over the summer, the field turf was replaced at Westlake High School’s stadium and the school’s two practice fields.

“Not only does it look great, but it came in under budget,” school board member Ellen Balthazar said at the board’s Aug. 25 meeting. “And I think we should thank the voters.”

Eanes officials said they had budgeted $1.96 million for the project, and it ended up costing $600,000 less than that.

Additionally, the entire air conditioning and heating system was replaced at Forest Trail Elementary School — the last of the Eanes schools to have a system replaced, Eanes officials said. This work was paid for with 2011 bond funds, a decision the board made when it placed the 2015 bond on the ballot. This work cost $1.83 million, which was the expected price.

Eanes officials said they plan to purchase two 84-passenger buses with low-emission green diesel engines soon, as well as sound-system upgrades for the high school’s Performing Arts Center.

The rest of the projects will take some planning, such as the middle schools’ fine arts rooms expansions, the planned administration building on the Shriner tract and the razing of the warehouse to make more room at the Eanes Elementary School campus, Superin- tendent Tom Leonard has said.

At the meeting, the board also discussed the fact that the district only ran a $3 million deficit (meaning Eanes pulled $3 million from its reserves) for the 2014-15 school year, instead of the $4.1 million officials had budgeted for.

“I think that’s going to be important when we start talking about raises,” board member Rob Hargett said.