Earlier this year, the Alpine School Board was a little nervous about the new elementary school it needs in Eagle Mountain. A land dispute had delayed construction, and officials were worried that the school would not be finished by the beginning of the fall 2008 school year. If construction was delayed into November or December, the students would have been forced to learn in portable classrooms while construction crews worked on common rooms like the cafeteria.

Luckily for Alpine School District, construction began in October. Dave Holdaway, the district's director of physical facilities, said the school, which is approximately 80,000 square feet, should be finished on time.

"We think we got it started in time and we'll have it finished by next fall," Holdaway said. "It's been close, but I think we'll make it."

Construction has begun on both the classrooms and the common areas. Rob Smith, the district's business administrator, said the fastest he's seen an elementary school go up is 10 months. It's preferable to have 12 months. The district likes to have 18 months to build a junior high school and two years to build a high school.

Alpine School District isn't the only one in a construction rush. Merit College Preparatory Academy in Springville broke ground Monday, and is slated to open in fall 2008. That gives construction crews seven months to complete the building.

Paul Lupo, a board member at Merit Academy, said he is not worried about the 75,000-square-foot structure being completed in time.

"We have every confidence in the builder," Lupo said. "He's going to make every attempt for it to be done."

Lupo said his contractor has assured him that other charter schools have been built in three or four months.

The facility will have a full kitchen, auditorium, soccer field and track.

Rockwell Charter High School in Eagle Mountain is also slated to open in the fall, and construction has begun.

Redge Hudson, the board chairman for Rockwell, isn't worried about getting done on time, either. He thinks it will be completed, but if not, the school has a few back-up plans.

"A lot of people are nervous about it not opening on time, but I know it's going to be open on time," Hudson said.

If something unforeseen comes up, the school could start school a few days late or find a place to rent.

Hudson doesn't think the school will need to go that far, but it's been done before. When Alpine School District built Saratoga Shores Elementary School, students spent the entire year in portable classrooms, and the cafeteria wasn't completed until mid-year.

Hudson said charter schools don't always take as long to build as public schools because public schools have to have more amenities. Rockwell Charter High School will only be about 65,000 square feet.

Other charter schools have had to rent space while their buildings were completed. Mountainville Academy in Alpine was set to open in the fall of 2006. The school had planned a ground breaking for April 2006, but the school ran into problems with the city. The building was finished a year later. Meanwhile, classes met in rented office space in American Fork.

Mountainville Director Wade Glathar said the office space was challenging because classroom walls didn't reach the ceiling and noise traveled between classes. Teachers and students are enjoying their new building now.

"We appreciate what we have even more now," Glathar said.

Glathar said that if he had to give advice to other charter schools, he'd tell them to get going on buildings.

"It's always safe to give yourself more time," Glathar said.

Karl G. Maeser Prep Academy in Lindon began school this year in a renovated bowling alley. Principal Mike Westover said the building was not like a bowling alley when the school chose to lease it -- people just remember the old Super Bowl.

"It was gutted, I mean nothing but the steel beams and some concrete," Westover said. "Everything is really new quite frankly."

The renovated bowling alley was meant to be a temporary home, but Westover said the decision to stay or move still hasn't been made.

"I think we're in this facility for a few years at least," Westover said.

• Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2549 or at blusk@heraldextra.com.