BONNERS FERRY — Progress over the past few months is noticeable at North Idaho Classical Academy both academically and in construction of its school building. 

The school, which opens in late August, recently held a lottery after more students signed up than there were spots available. 

In total, 302 students signed up for the 240 seats the school can have, with only fifth grade below capacity. The lottery was held March 5, but those who did not get in can still join a waitlist. 

Roof shingles, windows and doors will soon be installed ahead of the school’s expected August opening. Much of the framing for the 40,000-square-foot building has already been completed. 

Each classroom will be about 700 square feet and will feature large windows. 

“The big windows were a priority, especially because we’re in such a beautiful area,” NICA president Jacob Francom said. 

Crews are currently working on several aspects of the building.  

“They’re doing the plumbing and the electrical and then they’ll start doing insulation,” Francom said. 

One area under construction is a 3,000-square-foot cafeteria that can also be used as an assembly room. Also, a local company is working to create a parking lot and roadway with more than 100 spaces. 

“They had to dig down to make sure it has a good road base,” Francom said. “They’re the ones who dug up all the concrete over here in preparation for the parking lot and roadway.” 

“We have a good team of people working to make sure the facilities are going well,” Francom said. 

One of those people is Ryan Moore, a supervisor on the project who said coordinating multiple projects at once can be challenging. 

“It’s a lot of coordination,” Moore said. “It’s a lot of phone calls, emails and text messages and me physically going up to subcontractors and making sure they have everything they need.”  

“I’m a hands-on superintendent. I get out there and coordinate all the steps and make sure everybody has what they need. I’ve been building for 29 years, so I know what these guys need and what they’re looking for.” 

The building will be divided into two main areas. 

“In this part of the building will be grade six and above,” Francom said. “Kindergarten through fifth grade will be over there. Our preschool and daycare will be in those classrooms in the front.” 

The weather has helped keep construction on schedule. 

“I think it’s helped out tremendously,” Francom said. “We started a little later than we wanted to. We closed on the property Dec. 3 and construction really didn’t start until January.” 

“A lot of things are happening, but we’re still on track to be done in the middle of August.” 

Other preparations for the school’s opening are also happening alongside construction. 

“We’re right now in the middle of ordering furniture,” Francom said. “We’ve ordered buses, so we’re good there. Furniture is kind of the big thing next week. We’re also in the middle of hiring and finalizing our teaching staff and then we’ll move toward our support staff.” 

Several of the companies working on the project are based in North Idaho. 

“There are usually 20 to 30 workers on site,” Francom said. “Sometimes during framing there were quite a few more than that.” 

The school’s opening date is Aug. 25, just a week and a half after the building is scheduled to be completed. 

“We have plans if we need them,” Francom said. “We have days built into our schedule if we need to postpone and we’ve had sister schools that had that issue.” 

    Work is continuing on the 3,000 square foot space that will serve as the school's cafeteria. It has a higher ceiling than most of the school.
  

    A classroom at NICA, which is 700 square feet and will hold 30 students.