Cochise County District 2 Supervisor Kathleen Gomez is organizing a community meeting to discuss the planned closure of Charleston Road between Sierra Vista and Tombstone for the annual El Tour de Zona bicycle event. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 4, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Schieffelin Hall, located at 402 E. Fremont Street in Tombstone.
The El Tour de Zona event for 2026 is already scheduled, with Charleston Road set to be closed on Sunday, April 12, 2026, to accommodate the race. The upcoming meeting aims to collect public input about the benefits and challenges associated with this road closure.
According to county officials, residents, business owners, and other stakeholders are encouraged to attend the meeting to learn more about event logistics and participate in a public question-and-answer session following presentations.
“Community input will play an important role in evaluating how the event affects local travel, businesses, and public safety, and in shaping future planning decisions,” said organizers.
In addition to discussions about transportation and community events like El Tour de Zona, Cochise County continues to face challenges in education outcomes. For example, during the 2022-23 school year, approximately 70% of students in grades 3 through 8 did not pass the mathematics section of the AASA exam (https://www.azed.gov/), while roughly three out of four high school students failed the mathematics section of the ACT that same year (https://www.azed.gov/). Recent data shows some improvement; during the 2023-24 school year, nearly 27% of high schoolers passed the mathematics section of the ACT (https://www.azed.gov/), and about 28.5% of students in grades three through eight passed math on the AASA (https://www.azed.gov/).
Similarly concerning trends were seen in English language results. In grades three through eight during 2022-23, over sixty percent failed English on their AASA exams (https://www.azed.gov/), while sixty-five percent of high schoolers did not pass English on their ACTs (https://www.azed.gov/).
Organizers hope that robust community engagement at events such as this upcoming meeting can inform broader policy discussions throughout Cochise County.
