The Plummer-Worley School District, in North Idaho, will begin construction soon on a new, $8.5 million elementary school to replace an old elementary school that was condemned last year.

That building, located in Worley, was deemed unsafe for use after heavy snow caused structural failure during the winter of 2008-2009, says project architect Ken Murphy, of Spokane-based ALSC Architects PS.

The new elementary school, which will keep the old school's name, Lakeside Elementary School, will be located in Plummer, near the district's high school and middle school, he says.

Money for the $8.5 million project will come from a newly formed fund set up by the state of Idaho to assist public schools, he says, adding that the district did not pass its recent bond levy.

Petra Inc., of Meridian, Idaho, is the apparent low bidder for the project, the district says.

The district's 250 displaced students in grades preschool through sixth currently are being taught at Lakeside Middle School, and have been since the elementary school was condemned, Murphy says. Students in grades seven and eight have been temporarily moved to the high school until the new elementary school is complete, he says. The district also is using six portable classrooms to accommodate its students.

The new Lakeside Elementary will be constructed adjacent to the middle school, in the 1300 block of E Street, and will be about 47,000 square feet when completed, with 17 classrooms, he says.

"There will be a lot of natural light with well-lit classrooms and gym space," Murphy says. "It's essentially a two-story school that will be built into a hillside."

No decisions have been made yet on what to do with the condemned building, which was constructed in 1938, the district says.

Construction on the school is set to begin this month and is expected to be completed sometime in December 2011, Murphy says.