Bill Tribble was named the new principal of Elkmont High School by a unanimous vote at last Tuesday’s board meeting.

Tribble, a lifelong Limestone County resident, spent the last 11 years as an educator, assistant principal and athletic director at East Limestone High School. Before then, he worked at Buckhorn and Bob Jones high schools as a teacher and baseball coach.

When Garth Garris retired from the system on Jan. 29, Tribble said he looked at the vacancy because it reminded him of the tight-knit community East Limestone used to be before its explosive growth.

“That small community, that is what really drew me to want to be principal at Elkmont,” he said. “East Limestone used to be what Elkmont is now.”

With the announcement, Elkmont has welcomed its newest leader.

“It’s been humbling, the amount of support I’ve received,” Tribble said. “They’re a great staff, the kids are great kids, they’ve been eager to get to know me. It’s been wonderful, I couldn’t say enough about the support I’ve received from the community, staff and students.”

Tribble’s hiring was the latest in a string of retirements, hires and transfers within the Limestone County Schools administrative branch. So far this school year, Blue Springs Elementary, Ardmore High, Piney Chapel Elementary and Elkmont have experienced a change in the principal’s office. The county’s human resources director and curriculum director offices underwent a change as one incumbent retired and the other took a superintendent’s position in another system.

When viewed from the outside, the changes might seem like an alarming trend, but Tribble said all the change is just a product of the system’s administrators reaching retirement age. He added that Superintendent Tom Sisk and the Limestone County Board of Education have been innovative enough to implement training programs to produce qualified replacements from within the system. Tribble also participated in those programs, which are designed to give teachers interested in becoming certified education administrators an avenue to earn those certifications.

“I think Dr. Sisk, our board and our leaders at the central office, they really do try to prepare us,” he said.

As he settles in on the Hilltop, Tribble’s heart still belongs in East. It’s where he was born, raised and where he lives with his wife and children. He said he wants his family, the East Limestone community and board member Earl Glaze, who represents East Limestone, to know how much their support has meant to him.

“I wouldn’t be where I am if it hadn’t been for all the relationships I’ve developed at East,” he said.