For the first time in many years, the Mehlville School District has bought property to expand its footprint.

The Board of Education voted unanimously in closed session April 28 to purchase the property immediately west of Oakville Elementary School at 2941 Yaeger Road for up to $300,000.

The district bought the property for $290,000, closing the sale May 5.

The district isn’t planning any changes during the 2020-2021 school year, but the site will help expand parking in the future. In the Facilities Steering Committee’s survey of parents and teachers at Oakville Elementary, parking was seen as one of the top facilities issues at the school that could potentially be addressed by a future Proposition P extension ballot measure.

Landlocked in the middle of residential property, Oakville Elementary has always been one of the most cramped Mehlville schools when it comes to finding parking. Superintendent Chris Gaines said he even had a hard time finding a space when he dropped by during the middle of the day.

The parking issues were so severe there that the district saw it as a safety issue. Various district officials have eyed the property in question for years. The house on the site is separated from the school by a fence.

In this case, the property wasn’t for sale. The owner approached the district.

“Opportunity presents itself at the strangest times sometimes… There was no sign out front, not on the market,” Gaines said in a YouTube video recorded at Oakville Elementary. “It just kind of happened in a weird time but we were able to acquire it.”

When the board considered selling part of the property in front of Oakville Middle School and Wohlwend Elementary to Aldi for a new grocery store, officials said the $900,000 the district could receive in the deal could go to fund the purchase of the property next to OES.

In this case, the money came out of district reserves.

The school was built 30 years ago to replace the original Oakville Elementary with money from the first Prop P.