In fast-growing Star, new elementary school will ease overcrowding next year

The school year in West Ada will come to a close in a couple of months, but Idaho’s largest school district is gearing up for a big change.

In August, fast-growing Star will welcome around 600 students to a new elementary school on North Pollard Lane.

Independence Elementary, named for the nation’s semiquincentennial, will serve families and students who have been challenged by long bus trips and overcrowding at Eagle and Star elementaries.

The new school sits beside Star Middle School on Pollard Lane, something that has raised concerns from nearby residents about traffic congestion.

Jeff Christopherson, the school’s newly named principal, told the Idaho Statesman that the district has worked with city officials to address those concerns. A separate entrance to the campus and a new walking path connecting Floating Feather Road to both schools are expected to help.

“Time will tell,” Christopherson said in a phone interview, “but I think the district and the city have done a good job collaborating.”

Christopherson, a Star resident, is wrapping up his third year as principal of Hunter Elementary in Meridian after completing his principal internship at Star and Willow Creek elementary schools.

The new school is expected to ease a long-standing burden for families living south of Idaho Highway 44. Students there are currently bussed about 7 miles — up to a 45-minute trip with stops — in Eagle.

The $20 million construction of Independence Elementary was funded through Idaho House Bill 521, a statewide school facilities package enacted in 2024. The law authorized about $1 billion in state bonds, distributed to districts based on enrollment.

West Ada is the state’s largest district, with roughly 40,000 students, received about $150 million through the measure. District officials have said the funding allowed them to build new schools without raising local property taxes.

The campus is part of a broader effort to keep pace with growth in Star and surrounding communities, where new housing developments have driven increased enrollment in recent years.

Star has grown by leaps and bounds the past decade and a half. Its population was not quite 6,000 in 2010, was around 11,500 in 2020 and now is nearly 22,000, growth that caused schools to burst at the seams.

This story was originally published March 30, 2026 at 4:00 AM.