Like cracking open a pack of new pencils with the eraser tops still bright pink, the Vineyard school year starts Thursday with a fresh cast - a new bus company, four new administrators and more than a dozen teachers newly hired into Island classrooms.

To put it simply, Vineyard schools are stepping into this academic year with a slate full of new faces and new ideas.

Over at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, for example, leaders are planning to undertake the first-ever analysis of block-scheduling since the 84-minute class periods were implemented 10 years ago.

High school ninth graders report to class tomorrow while the rest of the pack officially piles into school on Thursday. All told, 2,436 students are enrolled in Island public schools, including the Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School in West Tisbury.

Eager to place the crises and turmoil of the last year in the past, Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash said yesterday he views this year as a time to stabilize and shift the focus to the core mission of student learning and effective teaching.

"The challenge is managing our abundant resources and stewarding it well in a time of overall population decline," Mr. Cash said.

Enrollment levels this year continue to be relatively flat at most schools, while dropping by about 20 students at both the Tisbury and West Tisbury schools, Mr. Cash said.

While balancing enrollment and budgetary concerns, Mr. Cash and his team spent much of last year locked in political controversies in both the up-Island schools and at the regional high school.

Fiscal worries fueled efforts to break up the three-town school region in Aquinnah, Chilmark and West Tisbury. Fallout from last year's scandal over the theft of culinary equipment and funds dominated school meetings throughout the fall.

Then came this summer's one-two punch: the resignation of the two principals in the up-Island schools followed days later by news that Island Transport wanted out of the school bus operation.

Mr. Cash, along with school committee members and number crunchers at the central office in Vineyard Haven, plugged all three gaps over the last two weeks, hiring new principals for Chilmark and West Tisbury and then crafting a deal with the Vineyard Transit Authority and a Florida company to transport more than 1,500 students who rely on the buses.

"We feel good where we are now," said the schools superintendent.

Lagging enrollment, though, remains a source of concern.

Numbers are down for the third year in a row at the West Tisbury School, where the census Thursday morning is expected to be 325 students, down 17 per cent from 2001. For most of the nineties, enrollment at the West Tisbury School hovered above the 400-mark.

Tisbury School enrollment stands at 293 this week, down from 315 last year.

"That's the lowest I've seen since I've been here," said Mr. Cash. "We need to take a look at this. We know Tisbury is built out, but there could be a number of reasons. The community could do a needs assessment there."

While the number of youngsters filling Island school desks may be waning, Vineyard school leaders are looking forward to a year with healthy funding from the commonwealth.

State aid for transportation and reimbursement for the cost of placing special needs students in residential settings has been beefed up, said Mr. Cash.

"Massachusetts is in fairly decent shape. Taxes are up and that means Chapter 70 is holding the line," he said.

The hiring that took place last spring and into the summer doesn't signal expansion of the teaching ranks, but rather replacements - for resignations, retirements and maternity leaves.

At the regional high school, Principal Peg Regan has restructured her administrative staff, naming former teacher Steve Nixon to fill the assistant principal's post left vacant by Doug Herr's retirement.

Michael Halt, the former dean of students, was tapped for a second assistant principal's job at the high school but was just hired last week to take over as an interim, one-year principal at the West Tisbury School.

Anne Lemenager, the longtime physical education teacher at the high school, will serve as interim assistant principal this year. Finally, a new vocational director - Jeff Rothwell - is stepping in this year to cover the job while Kevin Carr takes a one-year leave of absence.

With a new team at the top echelons, Mrs. Regan will embark on two new initiatives. One is aimed at possibly revamping the schedule to allow a floating period that could be used for assemblies and student activities without sacrificing time in class.

Mrs. Regan said she would like to see students involved in designing assemblies. More student empowerment this year will also be seen in the formation of a student-run athletic council, charged with recommending policy changes to the school advisory council.

On the topic of high school athletics, students this year will have the option of spending $10 for a so-called Spirit Pack, a free pass to sporting events for the year. The money will go to a fund to sponsor other student events such as concerts.

One of those events - featuring two high school bands, Pink Socks and Olive - is already in the works for later this month.

Over at the Edgartown School, principal Edward Jerome is also kicking off the new school year with a party of sorts. The film Three Musketeers will show this Friday at 5:30 p.m. on a 40-foot outdoor screen up against the new school building.

"The screen was donated by the architects," said Mr. Jerome. "I want to use that courtyard for more activities."

Other footnotes for the school year just about to commence: Oak Bluffs principal Laury Binney is on the mend after his weekly game of pickup basketball left him with a serious knee injury.

Back at the high school, some social studies students better make sure they behave in class. Their new teacher, Bettina Bunting, is a former Pennsylvania state trooper.