The clock is ticking for the Coeur d’Alene School District if it hopes to open a new elementary school on time.

That was the message from Stan Olson, Coeur d’Alene School District interim superintendent, during Monday night’s school board meeting.

“To open the school for the 2019-2020 school year, there needs to be action in February if that’s at all possible,” said Olson. “There are three properties in play. It is the district’s desire to have the school board make a decision at next month’s board meeting.”

Here are the three possible sites:

1. The former Hayden Lake School site, which the district owns.

2. Six acres in the vicinity of Ramsey Road and Prairie Avenue.

3. Several parcels in the North Atlas Road area.

The future school will house about 550 students, which should help ease overcrowding in elementary schools located in the northwest quadrant of the district. During Monday’s board meeting, Olson told the audience the district had made an offer on the Ramsey Road and Prairie Avenue property. However, Board Chairman Casey Morrisroe clarified the situation Tuesday morning.

“We’re in the process of putting together a deal,” said Morrisroe. “The negotiations are going on, but there is no offer yet.”

The district is hoping to secure between 6 and 10 acres, Morrisroe said.

“The long-range planning committee recommended 10 acres, but because the district has had trouble acquiring property we could go as small as 6 acres and build a two-story school,” he said. “The real estate boom has made this effort much more challenging than was anticipated 18 months ago. Builders are scrambling to find land and there is a lot of competition for land that is available.”

Design and construction costs for the new school are expected to be about $11.5 million. The district has budgeted roughly $1.3 million to buy property and develop it, said Coeur d’Alene School District spokesman Scott Maben.

“If the total purchase/development cost is greater than $1.35 million, the district would need to identify other sources of funding to accomplish that,” said Maben. “We also have $688,000 in a special revenue fund we can tap for land acquisition.”

The former Hayden Lake School is located on about 5.5 acres at the corner of Government Way and Hayden Avenue. Olson discussed the possibility of acquiring an additional 1.7 acres from the city of Hayden, which has property bordering the school.

Morrisroe said that idea is in its preliminary stages and it would have to be approved by Hayden’s City Council.

“Right now, it’s our administration staff talking with their administration staff,” he said. “There’s a lot of ground to cover and for that to happen in time for our February board meeting, everyone better get cranking on it.”