Highland EDA Hears About Project REACH

Monterey, VA – Anne Adams and Ginny Neil were the special guests at this month’s Highland county Economic Development Authority meeting. They were representing a group that has formed an organization called Project REACH, which stands for Rural Education And Cultural Heritage. One of the group’s goals is to develop a strategy to preserve the highland school system in the face of declining enrollment and decreasing state support.

The group is looking to get the Virginia state legislature to change the formula for the composite index, so that rural schools in counties with low population will not be at such a disadvantage when it comes to state funding. The core mission of the group is for the highland school system to develop ways to become sustainable in the face economic changes like the current recession which has led to cuts in state funding for schools.

The EDA recently nominated the Highland Telephone Cooperative and Gary Lane, Information Technology Coordinator for the Highland public schools, for the Shenandoah Valley Technology Council awards program. Over 250 nominees recently attended the Tech Nite banquet on the campus of James Madison University the evening of March 31. Although neither of the Highland county nominees received an award, their nomination recognizes their outstanding service to the county in the area of computer technology.

EDA Chairwoman Betty Mitchell also spoke about a new website called Fish Virginia First that will provide a link to fishing sites in the county. She says Bryan O’baugh is working on getting information and pictures of public sites in the county updated to the website.

The next meeting of the Highland EDA will be a joint meeting with the EDA technology committee. The guest for this meeting will be Karen Jackson, Virginia’s Deputy Secretary of Technology. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 11 at 7 PM at the Highland center.