Lakeland May Start Alternative High School

With an increasing number of students enrolled in the Lakeland School District, officials there say it’s time to consider adding an alternative high school.

Currently, Lakeland students who want an alternative school make the trip to the Post Falls New Visions high school.

But the school’s distance from Lakeland and its long waiting list can make it an inconvenient option.

At the Lakeland School Board’s Monday meeting, officials will consider starting their own alternative school.

“We feel at this point as though Lakeland has grown and that this might be the time to look at offering a program within the Lakeland School District,” administrator Ron Schmidt said.

New Visions enrolls about 65 students, said Jerry Keane, Post Falls assistant superintendent. Eleven of them come from the Lakeland district, Schmidt said.

The two districts have shared the school since it opened five years ago.

Enrollment at the high school has more than doubled since then. And 25 students are on a waiting list, Keane said. A few of those are from Lakeland.

Schmidt said some students who have dropped out of high school have expressed interest in attending an alternative school in Rathdrum.

“A number of kids have trouble getting to Post Falls because of transportation,” Schmidt said.

The district could locate an alternative school in the Rathdrum Upper Elementary School building, which is now empty. A new alternative high school will probably not hurt business for New Visions, Keane said.

The School Board meeting is at 7 p.m. on Monday in the administration office.