The Coeur d’Alene School District announced Thursday that projected enrollment for the 2026-27 school year has reached a record 11,200 students, a 4.8% increase over the current year and a number that superintendent Shon Hocker says will require immediate action on classroom capacity, staffing, and transportation to maintain the district’s educational standards. The enrollment surge reflects Kootenai County’s continued rapid population growth, which has been adding thousands of new residents annually to the greater Coeur d’Alene area.
The growth is most acute at the elementary level, where five of the district’s 13 elementary schools are projected to exceed their designed capacity by the start of the fall semester. Skyway Elementary in the rapidly developing northwest corridor and Borah Elementary near downtown Coeur d’Alene face the most significant overcrowding, with projected enrollments 15-18% above their designed capacities.
How the District Plans to Manage Growth
Hocker presented a multi-pronged plan to the school board that includes hiring 28 new certified teachers, adding portable classroom buildings at four elementary schools, adjusting attendance boundaries to redistribute students more evenly, and expanding bus routes to serve new residential subdivisions that have come online in the past 12 months.
“Growth is both a blessing and a challenge for our district,” Hocker told the board at Tuesday’s meeting at the Midtown Center. “More families choosing Coeur d’Alene is a vote of confidence in our community and our schools. But it’s our responsibility to ensure that every student — whether they’ve been here for 10 years or 10 days — receives a quality education in a facility that isn’t bursting at the seams.”
The 28 new teaching positions will cost approximately $1.8 million in salary and benefits, funded primarily through increased state per-student funding that the Idaho Legislature approved earlier this month. The portable classroom buildings, which cost approximately $120,000 each and can be installed within 60 days, will add eight classrooms across the four most impacted schools.
Boundary Changes and Community Impact
The most controversial element of the plan involves redrawing attendance boundaries for three elementary schools to shift approximately 180 students from overcrowded buildings to schools with available capacity. Boundary changes affect families’ daily routines, commute patterns, and community connections, and Hocker acknowledged that the process will be “difficult but necessary.”
The district will hold four community input sessions in April to gather feedback on the proposed boundary changes before the board votes in May. The sessions will be held at Ramsey Elementary, Skyway Elementary, the Midtown Center, and the district office on Mullan Avenue.
Long-Term Facility Planning
Beyond the immediate fixes, the district is advancing planning for a new elementary school on a 12-acre site acquired in the Prairie Avenue corridor in 2024. The school would accommodate 500 students and relieve overcrowding at Skyway, Atlas, and Borah elementaries. However, construction would require a bond measure that the district plans to put before voters in May 2027.
Board chair Jennifer Brumley noted that Kootenai County building permit data suggests enrollment growth will continue at 3-5% annually for the foreseeable future. “We need to plan not just for next year but for the next decade,” Brumley said. “The families moving here expect the same quality education that made our district one of the best in Idaho.”
What Comes Next
The boundary change community input sessions will be announced on the district website at cdaschools.org in early April. The school board will vote on the 2026-27 staffing plan and boundary adjustments at its May meeting. Parents with questions about enrollment, school assignments, or transportation can contact the district office at 208-664-8241. For more on Idaho school funding, see coverage at the Idaho News Network.