 Through the 1870s the town 's economic condition was poor , and the school , still run by the Methodist Episcopal Church , South , closed at least once more before reopening permanently in 1877 . In 1885 , a separate town @-@ funded public school system for Auburn was created , and the previously private Auburn Female College became the public " Auburn High School " , although tuition was still charged . While this new public funding allowed the school to remain open much longer than before — 200 days in 1886 — enrollment was significantly lower than it was prior to the Civil War , with an 1889 report listing Auburn High School as enrolling fewer than 20 students . 
