BONNERS FERRY — As of Tuesday, Jan. 20, North Idaho Classical Academy announced that 200 students have already enrolled for the school’s 240 available seats, filling just over 83% of capacity. 

Enrollment ends on Feb. 27. A lottery will be held March 5 if applications exceed available seats at the public charter school. In that case, not all applicants would be offered enrollment at the school adjacent to the Boundary County fairgrounds. 

According to the school, applications will be prioritized in the following order: founders or full-time employees, siblings, students transferring from an American Classical Schools of Idaho institution, students living inside the catchment zone and students living elsewhere in Idaho. 

Students not selected in the lottery will be placed on a waitlist in order of priority and may be offered enrollment if accepted students decline. 

Despite the winter months, construction is well under way on the planned 40,000-square-foot building. After the previous building was demolished, the school announced that concrete is currently being cut and trenched for plumbing, ahead of an anticipated August 2026 opening. 

On Jan. 20, the first official day of framing began, as construction workers start working on the first pieces of the actual building that will house the estimated 240 students from grades K-7 in its first year. 

In other NICA-related news, the school published a legal notice two weeks ago seeking bids for the procurement, delivery and installation of furniture, fixtures and equipment, also known as FF&E, for its campus. The deadline is Feb. 2. 

The school is still searching for teachers and support staff.