School officials said out-of-district students have been switching to the Tombstone district for the smaller school atmosphere and athletic opportunities, which has generated the spike in enrollment.

With 125-student freshman class – more than half from out-of-district – Principal Robert Devere asked the board on Feb. 9 to "take a leap of faith" in hiring a new teacher.

The board would be taking a risk because of the possible $450,000 in cuts from the state and even more from the federal government. These cuts will likely come after the district has its budget finalized July 15.

If a new teacher isn't hired, the high school could be facing classroom sizes of up to 50 or 60 students in certain subjects, said Superintendent Karl Uterhardt.

If hired, the new teacher will be a dual certified English and social studies teacher and lower the student-to-teacher ratio to 28, said Uterhardt.

"Parents and students want the smaller school environment," said Uterhardt. Devere agreed.

"The word is out that this is where they want to be," said Devere. "Parents and students from Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca are recognizing that."

Buena High School in Sierra Vista has 2,200 students and Tombstone has 357.
Sierra Vista Superintendent Brett Agenbroad said athletics play a large role in students transferring from Buena to Tombstone.

"That is a draw for people who may not be able to make first string at Buena," said Agenbroad. "They could go somewhere else, like Tombstone, and make the starting squad and get a scholarship."

Buena is in the 5A athletic region, which is the largest in Arizona. Tombstone is 2A.

Apache Middle School in Sierra Vista closed down last year and seemed to be a hefty contributor to the freshman spike.

"First we cut athletic funding to Apache Middle School, and people said that they'll just go to Tombstone," Agenbroad said. "And then we had 30 students from our eighth grade class last year go to Tombstone high school when Apache closed."

Agenbroad said he received threats of parents saying they would transfer their kids if Apache closed but he doesn't know exactly why he lost the students to Tombstone.

"It was kind of a random sample. A natural mix of people," said Agenbroad. "It could have been the reconfiguration of our school."

Because enrollment has reached more than 820 students at Sierra Vista's remaining junior high school, Joyce Clark Middle School, Tombstone High is expecting a similar sized freshman class in 2011-2012.

The district provides the 30-minute bus ride to the students who have switched from Sierra Vista to Tombstone.

But the high school can't continue to offer all of their programs without anotherteacher. "The situation is that we either have to get another teacher or take some of the electives away," Uterhardt said.

The new teacher would make $30,000-$35,000 annually, depending on their qualifications, he said.

The school board is set to vote on the teaching position at its March 9 meeting.