SANDPOINT — Students, parents and faculty members were all smiles Thursday as they took part in the official groundbreaking for Sandpoint Charter School’s new $3.3 million high school.

The 20,000-square-foot school will be located just east of the existing facilities on Ontario Street, on a plot of land the school already owns.

Before the shovels came out, principal Alan Millar spoke to the more-than-100 attendees about the efforts involved in bringing a high school to life.

Millar said organizers met almost continuously during a year of intense planning. Supporters did everything from hosting meetings with community members to petitioning the school district to working with local bankers and architects, according to Millar.

“We’re a project-based school, and this is our ultimate project,” he said. “We’ll take the wheelbarrow of education and wheel it down the road.”

It will likely take a year to build the new facility, but the school will accept as many as 90 freshmen and sophomores next fall. Students will receive instruction at the existing school until construction at the high school is finished.

So far, 45 students have signed up for the fall semester. At full capacity, the new high school will have room for 150 to 200 students.