BONNERS FERRY — On a warm and bright day, Boundary County community members gathered outside and watched the start of a new era at Valley View Elementary School. 

Ground was broken Thursday, April 9, at Valley View Elementary School, as the Boundary County School District works to ensure that a new elementary school will be ready by the start of the 2027-28 school year. 

Several state lawmakers were in attendance, including Idaho Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke and Debbie Critchfield, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction. They were joined by Idaho Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, and Idaho Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, from District 1. Several Boundary County elected officials were also in attendance, including county commissioners and city councilmembers. 

Dozens of students from Valley View sat on the grass quietly, listening attentively as BCSD Superintendent Jan Bayer spoke to the audience. 

Bayer acknowledged the work it took to get a new school, which included multiple failed bonds on the ballot. 

“It was not an easy task,” Bayer said. “This project did not happen by accident. It is a result of grit, persistence and a refusal to give up.”  

“Thank you to the state of Idaho for creating the cooperative funding program and selecting Valley View as one of your first projects.” 

The new school will be next to the current Valley View site, which will be turned into a parking area once construction of the new school is completed.    

The state of Idaho awarded the district $13.2 million on Aug. 5, 2025, to build a new facility with funding coming from House Bill 338, which allocated $50 million for rural school facility upgrades statewide.  

More than 25% of the total amount went to Valley View, which had issues such as the school gymnasium collapsing in 1996. A 2023 inspection found that the building was close to condemnation. 

At the groundbreaking event, Bayer thanked the people who made the day possible. She also singled out Linda Alt, who started attending Valley View in 1954, six years after the school first opened in 1948. Alt was very happy the school was getting torn down.

“It's just fantastic,” Alt said. “All my kids went here and over the years, you can see that it was getting old, tired and needed to be replaced. I have lots of memories, good memories of it.” 

Another special guest was a girl named Rosie, who just started schooling this year as a kindergartner at Valley View. She and her peers will be able to use a new elementary school in 2027. 

After the speeches, 14 people, ranging from Bedke to Alt and Rosie lined up wearing yellow construction hats and holding shovels. At the same time, they stuck their shovels into the ground, marking the start of construction. 

In celebrating the groundbreaking Woodward noted he started school at Valley View in 1977. 

“It's pretty incredible,” Woodward said. “I always say when I started in 1977 it wasn't new then. I watched the very first space shuttle launch here in the portables out back.” 

He said it would be strange to see it all torn down but complimented the school board and Bayer. 

“The school board and the superintendent worked so hard,” Woodward said. “They made it happen.” 

Kindergarten registration is now open for the 2026-27 school year at BCSD. The link to a registration form can be found at bcsd101.com 

    Valley View students put their hands in the air as they watched the groundbreaking ceremony at their school.