Austin ISD could be closer to buying land in south Austin for a potential school site, as the board is planning to schedule a vote about the land purchase in August. The board discussed a potential timeline and next steps for the purchase of land for a South Austin high school for more than two hours during its April 13 work session. The conversation was a followup to a March 9 meeting during which the board committed to making a decision on whether to purchase south high school land by Dec. 14. Funding for such a land purchase was approved by voters in 2008. The board did not take any formal action during the April 13 work session, but trustees Ann Teich, Edmund Gordon, Julie Cowan, Amber Elenz and Robert Schneider expressed agreement that the board should decide on whether to buy the land without seeking additional community engagement first. "I think we need to just say we're going to buy it; we're going to buy a piece of land," Teich said. "And we decide where that's going to be." Trustee Kendall Pace noted the district has conducted south high school community engagement meetings in the past. Teich added that in a few months a board committee is planning to schedule community engagement about other issues such as transfer policies and potential boundary changes, which are related to south high school needs and challenges. Trustee Paul Saldaa said he would support making a decision about the land sooner than December as long as the district still plans to conduct that conversation with the community. Schneider suggested the board submit any remaining questions about the land purchase to the administration, give staff time to respond, and schedule a land purchase vote for August or September. Board President Gina Hinojosa suggested giving trustees a month to get those questions in to the administration. The board would then consider parcels of land in executive session at its June 22 meeting, she said. "The future of Austin is going to be one of continued growth," Gordon said. "I think we will need the land to build something eventually, and now would be the most opportune time to make that investment. An investment is an investment. We are in a situation where these kinds of dollars are the most efficacious dollars we can get—any dollars we get through regular taxation are [lost] and these are not lost in that way. I suggest that we invest them." The board also discussed the question of whether to buy multiple parcels of land, one parcel of land, or no parcels of land for the south high school site. Trustee Jayme Mathias said projections show Bowie High School will be over capacity by about 1,100 seats in a few years, while Travis and Crockett High Schools combined will have 1,700 empty seats. "We have the seats," he said. Staff considered a schedule of community meetings proposed by staff but Teich suggested cancelling those meetings. Instead engagement around transfers and boundary changes would likely be taking place in the fall, Cowan said. Trustees and AISD superintendent Paul Cruz emphasized the district is looking only at the land purchase—not actually building or operating a school, which would require additional funds.