Alleghany-Covington School Consolidation program wins Best Achievement Award

Last week, the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) announced its 2023 VACo Achievement Award winners, and Alleghany-Covington School Consolidation program received this year’s BestAchievement Award. The Partnership is both excited for and proud of these localities for their exemplary collaborative work to solve regional issues and provide quality education to their young residents.

In case you couldn’t tell by our name, we’re really into partnerships around here. We firmly believe that more good work gets done by collaborating with others—Alleghany and Covington are living proof of that.

In the face of increasing economic challenges, the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors, Covington City Council, the Covington City School Board, and the Alleghany County School Board joined together to form the Joint School Services Committee (JSSC). This committee, formed in 2019, met regularly to draft a plan to merge the two school divisions. Since this is only the third merger in Virginia since 1982, they didn’t have many blueprints to work from, making the success of this project even more impressive. Weighing pros and cons, communicating with the community, and ensuring no employees would involuntarily lose their jobs or see less take-home pay, the Alleghany Highlands Public Schools was created in July 2022.

By combining local resources, officials found that they could offer more educational opportunities to students like career-technical education courses, work-based learning opportunities, better services for English language learners, improved athletic facilities, and expanded music programs—all while saving taxpayer dollars.

Once again, congratulations to the Alleghany Highlands! The Roanoke Reginal Partnership is fortunate to work with both localities regularly to attract jobs, investment, and new residents to the region. One of the most useful tools in our economic development toolbox is our region’s commitment to collaborations and partnerships. Prospects and site consultants are always impressed with the localities’ ability to work together and for one another—it’s an attractive pitch that has served us well for many years, and here it is in action once again. Their accomplishment is no small feat, and we are glad VACo recognized that.

To read the full release with a list of all award recipients and their submissions, click here.