The Post Falls School Board may consider a school boundary change this fall due to an expected sharp enrollment spike at Prairie View Elementary.

"We anticipate the school to grow from 600 students to 650," Superintendent Jerry Keane said.

A portable building with two classrooms will be moved from West Ridge Elementary to Prairie View on Thursday to also help with the growth. The move will give Prairie View - located on Poleline Avenue on the city's north side - three portable buildings and six classrooms outside the main school building.

"That's less than ideal; that's why we're talking about re-zoning," said Sid Armstrong, the district's business manager. "We'll be ready for the kids in the fall, but the gym and lunchroom are going to be crowded."

The district has 16 portable buildings that have been moved around for the past several years from school to school depending on growth spurts.

Keane said the district has not started to analyze how a boundary change would work, but he gave the school board a heads up this week that it may consider a change late this fall after school starts when numbers are firmed up.

"We'd try to find the most logical group of students who are close to another school," he said. "If it appears that a boundary change is necessary, we will more than likely start the process in late winter."

He said the district is aware that changing schools can be difficult on families. When the district changed boundaries a few years ago, some families were grandfathered in so they weren't forced to make the switch.

"We may consider something like that again," Keane said.

Fueling Prairie View's growth is 155 first-graders expected this fall. Somewhat surprising, enrollment at West Ridge on Post Falls' growing west side has declined in the past two years.

Keane said Seltice Elementary will likely be the school best able to absorb some of Prairie View's growth.

Portables and boundary changes are only short-term solutions, so Keane said the district may consider building a new elementary in the Fieldstone subdivision sooner than the planned fall of 2016 date under the district's long-range facility plan.

An addition at River City Middle School was planned for two years ago, but was delayed with the recession and when student growth slowed. The addition has been the district's No. 1 priority, but he said it's possible the elementary situation could rise to the top.

"It appears that we will need to look at our long-range facility plan and see if we need to modify the timeline for a new elementary school," Keane said.

The district continued to grow during the recession, but at a much slower clip than during the building boom.

"We have evidence that the enrollment growth may be returning to the pre-recession pace of 2 to 3 percent," Keane said.

Other Post Falls summer building projects include: roof repairs at Post Falls Middle School, restroom remodels at Mullan Trail Elementary and Frederick Post Kindergarten, asphalt patching at Post Falls High, Frederick Post landscaping, replacing doors, locks and ramps of portable buildings, gym floor refinishing districtwide and a new computer lab at New Vision High.