Although the funding for Tombstone Unified School District will stay about the same for the 2013- 2014 school year, budget struggles continue to increase.

The problem, according to Karl Uterhardt, superintendent of TUSD, is that soft capital funds, which come from the state, have been getting cut annually. In the 2012-2013 school year alone, the state gave TUSD about $207,000 but reclaimed $147,000 in the fall long after TUSD had solidified its budget.

The majority of the district's funds generally go directly to student services for school supplies and programs. Budget cuts may force the district to buy their own supplies, however, which would cut into the budget even more or eliminate certain services completely, Uterhardt said.

"It comes down to what you can survive without," he said. "That's the real question."

But TUSD officials say they don't think they can survive without student programs such as athletics and clubs.

"We never cut programs," Uterhardt said. Instead, employees try to fill the gap by working fewer hours, combining jobs and utilizing part-time employees. Uterhardt himself is the superintendent, principal and pecial education director for Walter J. Meyer Elementary.

The state also limits the district's spending by assigning certain monies to certain areas, according to Uterhardt.

"There may be $100,000 sitting there, but it can only be used for certain areas that I just don't have the resources for," he said.

The current budget of $5.3 million is similar to last year's although enrollment has increased. The district has been consistently growing since 2006, according to Uterhardt, with TUSD gaining 16 students this year.

"Student growth has saved us," Uterhardt said.

TUSD receives $3,308 per student, which is approximately half of the Arizona average of $7,848 per student, according to the 2010 government census.

But even with a slight increase in the budget due to increased enrollment, the funds still aren't there for needs like technology updates.

"Our funds stay the same, but things are getting more expensive," Uterhardt said.

hough the funds are low, Uterhardt says he feels good about TUSD's future.

"We have great kids and great teachers that work hard," he said. "I am not happy about the lack of money we get, but I just have to live with it."

TUSD's budget for the academic year has been sent to the state and is awaiting official approval.

Tombstone High School athletic facilities may soon get a facelift, but it’s going to have to come brick by brick.

Faculty and staff members of Tombstone High School are reaching out to members of the community in an effort to sell bricks.  Purchasers of the bricks will have their name honored on the bricks, which will then be laid out across the Tombstone High School campus. Proceeds will go directly to the athletic department.

State funding for education has failed to keep up with the rapid growth of Tombstone Unified School District, forcing schools to build new ways to cope, one brick at a time.

On Tuesday, during the first of a series of meetings by the 2012-13 committee to develop a five-year plan for the district, members discussed challenges that TUSD will face, primarily in terms of state funding. TUSD has grown by 25 percent district wide over the last five years, and Superintendent Karl Uterhardt says the district expects growth to continue.

With a year under its belt, Tombstone’s JROTC program is on the rise, even if it takes a few spaghetti dinners and carwashes to get there.

Now in its second year, the program has grown to about 83 students this semester.

New students were drawn in from the Hereford area, as well as Sierra Vista and Huachuca City, said Second Lieutenant Katie Scott, who manages public affairs for the Tombstone High School JROTC program.

With graduation fast approaching at Tombstone High School, some seniors see enlisting as a way to explore their career opportunities after they receive their diploma.

Marcus Albright and Raymond Atzbach, are two such students, and have decided to work in fields that pertain to their unique interests. Albright is looking into becoming a gunsmith for the Army, while Atzbach plans to be a linguist in the Navy.

For Albright, his interest in firearms inspired him to go into the Army to be a gunsmith.

The old Tombstone High School building, which has been vacant since 2005, is back on the market and available for prospective buyers.

Tombstone Unified School District board members voted to terminate their 20-year lease agreement with Bill Smith of J&W Transformations at the most recent meeting. The decision came because the company, which started negotiations in 2010, did not meet the contract’s requirements on time or as scheduled, according to Karl Uterhardt, TUSD superintendent.

“With the lease in position it makes it very difficult for other people to talk about the property or make offers,” Uterhardt said. “By letting go of the lease, people are now able to look at the property.”

When the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program started at Tombstone High School this school year, Chief Thomas Gross did not expect a lot of participation.

“It is a new program and I thought just few students would be interested in being cadets,” Gross said. “So when we saw 60 students enrolled in the program, I knew it was going to pass my expectations.”

About 20 percent of the 310 students enrolled in the school are in JROTC. Tombstone High School has the highest rate in Cochise County of students who serve in the military after graduation, according to Gross.

In a large high school classroom filled with desks and colorful student projects lining the walls, transition and special education teacher Barbara Hansen, is up early writing notes and planning for the day.

“It really varies what I do day-to-day,” Hansen said as she moves from classroom to classroom in Tombstone High School, talking to other teachers and handing out paper work.

This March, Hansen was nominated for a Cochise County Teacher of the Year award by the Tombstone Unified School District.

“It’s an honor to have and a lots of teachers strive to get nominated,” said Susan Arndt, chief deputy for the County School Superintendent’s Office.

Hansen’s Transition from School to Work class, a course developed to teach students life skills they can use after graduation, took a field trip to Douglas on Wednesday to visit the Cochise College campus. There, students will learn about a variety of job and education opportunities available after high school.

“The opportunity to take these kid to these colleges is great, ” Hansen said. “And the curriculum of this class gives students a chance to do that.”

Hansen will join other nominees from school districts in Cochise County on April 13 at the Windemere Hotel in Sierra Vista, where winners will be named for elementary, middle cchool, high school and new teachers of the year. Winners of these categories will move on for a chance to be the overall Cochise County Teacher of the Year.  The winner will receive $1,000 and have the chance represent the Cochise County for the 2012 Arizona Teacher of the Year.

“I think it is an excellent choice,” said Joanie Cowden, a transition specialist for Tombstone High School. Cowden has been working with Hansen for the past three years and has been involved in a number of projects with her including advising a healthy student snack bar operated by transition students.

“She is the most inspiriting and caring teacher that I have ever seen,” Cowden said. “She spends so much time making sure that each student’s individual needs are met.”

Hansen has been a teacher for 21 years and has worked at Tombstone High School for four years. She is from Minnesota and earned her bachelor’s degree from St. Cloud State University and master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas.

“I don’t think anyone could teach longer than a year if they did not enjoy what they did,” Hansen said. “It’s a job you either got to love or you are not going to make it.”

While Hansen said she is honored and flattered by the nomination she said it’s enough to feel appreciated by her peers and students.

“If I win that’s great, but if don’t win that’s great too,” Hansen said. “Because the whole process makes you feel glad about what you are doing.”

Tombstone High School wants to improve English education while cutting costs and attracting potential teachers.

Tombstone High School Principal Robert Devere proposed new hybrid English classes for the 2012-13 school year at the most recent school board meeting. If approved, the classes would be offered to freshmen that need more time to develop basic writing skills.

In his presentation Devere noted one out of every seven students at Tombstone High School typically has to retake English classes.

“We are trying to break the fail and repeat cycle,” Devere said. “With these new hybrid classes, we can take those students who are moving at a remedial pace and build up some basic skills that for whatever reason they did not come in with.”

Patty Fuller, a schoolteacher at Walter J. Meyer Elementary School wants to bring back students who commute to school outside of Tombstone.

“I want them back,” said Fuller, who has been teaching at the school for the 20 years. “The kids need to be here and should get the chance to go to school in their own town.”

Fuller’s dream will become a reality because at its most recent meeting the Tombstone Unified School District board unanimously approved to reinstate a fifth and sixth grade combination class at Meyer next fall. Currently, Meyer doesn’t offer fifth or sixth grade classes. Students for those grades must go to Huachuca City Elementary School.

“We’re bringing back these grades as a combination class to Tombstone because Huachuca City has had a significant growth in enrollment over the last several years,” said Karl Uterhardt, TUSD superintendent. Enrollment has grown from 347 students to 520 in the last three years.

“We’re hoping that by doing that we can create a bus route and take some of the students to Tombstone and relive some of the pressure from Huachuca City,” Uterhardt said. “Also, it’s good for the community to have a K through sixth grade (school).”

In 2009, the board voted to eliminate fifth and sixth grade classrooms from Meyer, and combine the remaining grades due to budget cuts.

“The first year was very hectic,” Fuller said, who has been teaching 24 children in a third and fourth grade combination class for three years. “You have to teach double, you have to prepare for double and you have to grade for double.”

TUSD estimates that it’s receiving $250,000 less from the state over the past two years, leaving the district to cut corners by creating combination classes and doubling employees’ workloads, according to Uterhardt.

“Having done that for the last couple years, the Tombstone community came in and asked if we could get some grades back,” Uterhardt said. “But when stuff like cuts happen it makes what you want to do difficult to achieve. You really have to look and see if any type of program introduced is possible and worth it.”

When the board approved this three years ago, members were under the pretence that both fifth and sixth grade classes would be reintroduced, if the Huachuca City Elementary School experienced high enrollment or if the district received additional funding.

“When it was voted on to get rid of these grades I was under the impression it was just going to be temporary,” said Tom Yarborough, Huachuca City Elementary School principal.

In order to bring back a fifth and sixth grade combination class to Tombstone, Meyer will hire a new teacher and use an empty classroom already fully equipped. However, Uterhardt also anticipates paying for small renovation fees of around $200 to $300 to get the room in working condition for a class.

Uterhardt agreed with Fuller and said he wants to give Tombstone children the opportunity to complete their elementary school experience where they live.

“I love this school, I was born and raised in Tombstone and I went to this school,” Fuller said. “I think kids here should get to chance to do that too.”