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Keeping up with rapid growth

by Judd Wilson Staff Writer
| May 8, 2018 1:00 AM

COEUR d’ALENE ­­— The Coeur d’Alene School District may purchase two new properties for future schools, and is moving forward with plans to build a new elementary school at the Hayden Lake School site, said board members during their Monday night meeting.

Superintendent Stan Olson said the district has reached an agreement to partner with the city of Hayden to create both a school and a community center on the current site of the Northwest Expedition Academy. The city has done substantial work there, which will lower the district’s costs from more than $800,000 to less than $100,000, said Olson.

The superintendent lauded the work of board chairman Casey Morrisroe, Hayden Mayor Steve Griffitts, and the Hayden city council.

Olson told the board the district has the money to also pay for land at two other sites, on Prairie Avenue and at Huetter Road. Those purchases are being discussed with their current owners.

“The numbers have made me nervous,” said board member Tom Hearn while inquiring about the district’s ability to pay for the land.

The numbers on the offers and counter-offers are where they need to be for the district to move forward, said Olson. The district met with department heads from the city of Coeur d’Alene to determine what it would cost to develop the Prairie Avenue site into a future school, said Olson. While discussions about traffic mitigation and signals at the site still remain, Olson said projections for sewer connectivity and water were promising. “Those numbers are coming along nicely,” he said.

The Huetter Road property became a possibility in part thanks to the realignment of district boundaries with the Post Falls School District, said Olson. The property owner is also motivated by a desire to be a part of the solution to the district’s shortage of land, he added.

At its Monday meeting the school board unanimously approved the proposal to seek a boundary realignment. The neighboring districts plan to meet with officials at the state department of education later this summer, Olson explained.

Funds for these purchases would come from $1 million that was earmarked for future school site purchases in the 2017 bond election, said Morrisroe. Another $1.366 million total would come from the sale of 10 acres of land at Thomas Lane, which netted the district $663,000, and $688,000 in surplus funds from the district’s School PLUS after-school program, he said.

“I’m doubting Thomas. I’ll believe it when I see it,” joked Hearn.

Olson said the district is still going through the due diligence process on the properties. A property workshop is scheduled for May 17 at 4 p.m. to further discuss the property options. While only the Hayden Lake School site would be built up in the short term, the Prairie Avenue and Huetter Road properties could be developed in the mid- to long-term, said Olson.

Hearn asked Olson how likely it was that the district would seal the deals.

“If I were a betting man, I’d bet your house yes, we’d be able to buy those properties,” put them in a land bank, and move forward on planning for use of those sites, said Olson.

Board member Dave Eubanks remarked at the prospect of having property to put into a land bank for future school projects. “When I think about where we were a year ago and where we are today, it is astounding and wonderful. That is attributed to the leadership sitting up here.”