by nathan oster
School bells will ring for the first time on Tuesday, and when they do, they will bring to a close a summer of change for Big Horn County School District No. 3.
Since students and teachers packed up and moved out last May, the district has undergone a change at the top, with Roger Clark replacing Martha Young in the superintendent’s office.
The three building principals (Mark Fritz, Kris Cundall and Brenda Jinks) return, but the district does have one new administrator in Gary Meredith, the new director of special education.
Several school buildings got new roofs during the summer, and spectators who attend the first volleyball matches this fall will notice a brighter Buff Gym, thanks to some fresh paint and new lights.
Fritz, the principal at GHS, said he is both excited and nervous about the start of a new year. Excited, “to get things rolling again,” but nervous, “because of all that’s left to do and fear that we won’t be ready,” he said.
An assembly will kick things off on Tuesday.
The school day will be unchanged, with an 8 a.m. start time. The final bell will ring at 3:05. Buff Time, the intervention program launched last year for at-risk students, returns, scheduled from 3:05 to 3:30 p.m.  Last year it was for kids with Fs; this year it’s being expanded to those with Ds as well.
In addition to the new roof, GHS had a pull-down screen in the auditorium, and learning walls will soon be installed in some of the classrooms.
GHS has two new faculty members: Carol von Eschen, an English Language Learners teachers, and Dee Robertson, who is teaching special education.
In terms of enrollment, Fritz said he expects GHS’s student count to be “at least the same as last year, if not a little more.”
Cundall expects the same for GMS. Since her arrival at the school, opening day enrollments have ranged from 108 to 115; this year, it could exceed 130.
“We’re going to be up, for sure,” she said.
GMS has only one new faculty member in Lindsey Hazen, a counselor.
The first bell at GMS will be at 7:55 a.m., the tardy bell at 8 a.m. and the final bell at 3 p.m.  Buff Time will follow, ending at 3:30 p.m. Cundall said it has yet to be decided whether the intervention will target kids with Fs only or both Ds and Fs.
The GMS library will be a brighter place this fall, thanks to the windows that were installed during the summer.
At GES, the first bell will be at 8:04 a.m., the second bell at 8:15 a.m. and dismissal at 2:55 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
Collin Bratton is the building’s only new teacher. He will teach a class of fourth graders.
The approved school calendar puts graduation on May 23 and the final day of school on May 27. In total, students will put in 155 days, teachers 185 days.