WATERLOO --- A purchase agreement that was a late addition to the Board of Education's agenda was tabled Monday.

Waterloo Community Schools officials added the agreement to purchase a home adjacent to Kingsley Elementary at 266 Prospect Blvd. to the agenda Friday, the day after meeting packets were sent out to board members.

"It came to my attention Friday that (the item) did not make it onto the agenda," Superintendent Gary Norris told the board. The agreement was added, but Norris said not all board members received the information in a timely manner.

Under the agreement, the district would purchase the property for $201,000. Norris said it was appraised at $204,000.

"We do want to give you time to digest all the paperwork," he said. A special board meeting to consider approving the agreement will be called before the closing scheduled for Nov. 20.

Officials recently learned that the home on .68 acres was for sale.

"I met with the property owners and made an offer," said Norris, noting there has been a lot of discussion among Kingsley parents about overcrowding at the school. The district put down $15,000 in earnest money on the house last month.

The purchase will make room for various possibilities from expanding limited parking or playground space to installing portable classrooms or adding on to the school.

"I know it will make a huge difference in the postage stamp-sized site we have there at Kingsley," Norris said. "What this purchase does, it leaves all options on the table."

Kingsley's remodeling at Sunset Road and Prospect Boulevard made it one of the smallest school buildings in the district, with space for 350 students and a tiny campus.

"The board would have to make a decision to take that up to 450 (students)," said Norris, the number district schools are typically built to serve now. "Then we would add another classroom at each grade level. I can honestly say we have no intention of doing that at this point."

Without additional land, he said "the only option" would be revising the school's boundaries. "My first preference is to not zone people out of schools where they bought property thinking they were going to go to a school," said Norris.

Ideally, he added, the district will eventually be able to purchase two other properties adjacent to the school land for any expansion. If the board approves the purchase at 266 Prospect later this month, the district would lease back the home to the current owners through either Dec. 19 or Dec. 31 for $1,200 to $1,800. The district may look for another renter after that until deciding how to use the property.