LEAD HILL, Ark. -- A state law passed in 2004 requiring school districts to have a minimum enrollment of 350 students already forced the districts of Western Grove, St. Joe, and Bruno-Pyatt to consolidate. Now the school district of Lead Hill may be in jeopardy.
"We're going to do everything we can to save this campus," said Lead Hill School Board member Troy Burleson.
Burleson has seen enrollment at the district slowly fall below the state's 350 student minimum.
"When the economy started going bad just a little bit, gas prices went up and there's not a lot of job opportunities here, so, as parents had to move closer to Branson (and) Harrison, where they worked, they moved their kids with them."
As enrollment slipped, the possibility climbed of the school being closed.
"We're at about 336 right now, so we're really close, but not close enough. For us to have a number so close; it's a frustrating thing," said Burleson.
They're hoping to be adopted by a neighboring district which has already been through the same thing,
"We have Western Grove, St. Joe, and Bruno-Pyatt," said Ozark Mountain School District Superintendent Joe Hulsey.
The Ozark Mountain School District formed when its three campuses had to consolidate to avoid closure.
"On a day-to-day basis, it's the same as it was," said Hulsey.
