On June 10,1918, the matter of a new school building for the East Side Addition was brought before the School Board. After general discussion, the secretary was advised to inform several architects that a six or eight room unit would be erected, and should open as soon as possible. Prior to the Board Meeting an election had been held which authorized the Independent School District of Boise to issue bonds in the amount of $90,000 to build a school and provide it with furniture, apparatus and fixtures. Seven hundred and seventy-five persons voted in the election: 569 yes, 202 no, and 4 mutilated ballots.

Originally the Board had planned to build Roosevelt as a one story school, but after a trip to Nampa to inspect a one-story school there, it was decided to build a two-story building on the order of Lowell School. The low bid submitted by O. W. Allen was unanimously accepted.

A note of interest: According to Charles B. Little, Superintendent of Building and Grounds, "O. W. Allen had money enough to complete his contract. I gave him a certificate for $5,000.00. He drew the money and lost it all that night gambling and didn't pay his bills. The Pacific National Bank was his bondsman. The bank turned it over to me to finish. It was built on the unit plan. Allen left town."

The first mention of the name "Roosevelt School" was made in the Board minutes of May 12, 1919. Prior to that time Board minutes referred to it as the "new east side school building." The first operational year of Roosevelt School, 1920-21, saw many changes and modifications necessitated by the startup of a new facility. In addition to these expected inconveniences, school time was changed from Pacific to Mountain Time on December 4, 1920, in order to correspond with the change of time for the entire city.

This historical sketch has concentrated on the planning stages and the first years of operation of the school. However, it should be noted that, in 1948, a four room addition was made to the east end of the building, incorporating two rooms upstairs and two rooms downstairs. In 1951, a three room addition was made for approximately $44,000. This addition was added to the east end of the building. It was one story and was to house the kindergarten and two first grade classrooms.

An extensive remodeling of the upstairs floor under Superintendent Youngerman in 1971 and 1972 lowered the ceilings, installed new, smaller windows, and opened the classrooms for team teaching. These rooms have since been converted back to individual classrooms.