The bells will toll for the 2013-2014 school year for public schools on Monday and Dr. Mark Bazzell, Pike County Schools superintendent of education, said the county schools are already off to a good start.

“We’ve had four good days of professional development this week and we are ready to go on Monday,” Bazzell said. “We don’t anticipate any major changes in transportation, food service or how we conduct business.

“We do want to remind everyone that school buses will be on the road and encourage drivers to exercise extreme caution. The first few days are usually hectic and we do need to be cautious on the roads and around campuses as buses load and unload. We’ve been out of school for a while now so we need to be aware and cautious as we get back into the routine.”

New construction projects at Goshen and Pike County high schools are nearing completion but neither will be ready on opening day.

“The target date for the completion of the new gymnasium at Goshen High School is November so we never anticipated that it would be ready when school started,” Bazzell said. “Work on the new art complex at Pike County High School should be completed by the end of August. Some floor coverings and a few cosmetic things have to be done. We had a contingency plan in place in case the art complex was not ready. So, there was no need to rush.”

The new art complex will house the band program, the choir and madrigal programs and the theater, drama and the visual arts programs.

Bazzell said it will be mid-September before the Pike County Schools will have firm enrollment numbers.

“We expect between 2,400 and 2,500 students,” he said. “We’ve experienced growth 10 of the last 11 years and we expect a good year in the Pike County School System.”