After years of effort, construction of the new Valley View Elementary is slated to start in April 2026. 

The date was part of a timeline shared by the Boundary County School Board at its Monday, Sept. 22, meeting of what the community can expect for a timeline of key dates for construction of the new school. The school is expected to open for students by the start of the 2027-28 school year. 

On Oct. 2, the Valley View Recommendation Committee will tour Naples Elementary School.  

Atlas, NExA, and Winton Elementary Schools in the Couer d’Alene area will be toured on Oct. 10. Members of the committee include employees working at Valley View who have informed opinions on what they want from the new school. 

“We want input from teachers and from the administrative assistants, special education (teachers),” Boundary County School District Superintendent Jan Bayer said. “We feel that (it’s) very important to get their input. They are in those classrooms and in those spaces every day.” 

Tours will be of both one- story and two-story schools and will look at everything from overall school layouts to where sinks will be placed in classrooms. 

According to the schedule release, by Nov. 14 a schematic design will be complete. By Feb. 20, construction documents will be finished. A week later, permits will be submitted ahead of an April 6 construction start date. 

While the timeline has been mapped out to the day, Bayer cautioned that there will probably be some delays. 

The new location will be adjacent to the current Valley View site, which will be turned into a parking area once construction of the new school is completed. There are multiple options for what will happen to the students during construction, including moving fifth grade to the middle school for a year and sending a grade to Naples Elementary.  

Most of the money used for the new school was given by the state through House Bill 338, which allocated $50 million for rural school facility upgrades across the state.  

Bayer spoke at the board meeting about progress on the project that has so far included completion of soil sampling and the submission of forms to the State Department of Education.  

“We’ve been doing a lot in the background, because we have to wait for approval from the state department on our architecture (plans),” Bayer said.   

Construction of a new Valley View Elementary follows three failed bond attempts to raise funds to build a new school. In 2023, an inspection found the elementary school was just one disaster away from condemnation. 

“We want to just make sure that every step we take is in the best interest of maintaining that building for 75, 100 years,” Bayer said.