Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

As the number of high school graduates and certified workers grows, so does Lunenburg County’s ability to recruit companies. That’s part of the basis around which the new comprehensive plan is built for Kenbridge, Victoria and Lunenburg County. Education drives everything from business recruitment to attracting more residents. 

It’s a domino effect. Companies have made it clear they want a trained workforce, a group ready to hit the ground running on Day One. More companies in an area means more jobs, which leads to more people moving in, as they get hired. Then that in turn raises the tax revenue, allowing the county to pay for renovations and repairs to things like schools. But without that first piece, it’s harder to get the other dominos to fall.  

First comes the good news. As far as K–12 education, the county couldn’t be headed in a better direction. First is the Central High graduation rate, as 95.7% of students from the Class of 2024 finished on time. To put that in perspective, this is the first time since before the pandemic that’s happened. Even then, pre-pandemic, the on-time graduation rate hovered around 91.6%. Also of importance is Central High’s dropout rate, which currently stands at 1.52%. That’s again an improvement from 2022, where 6.35% of students dropped out from class. Central was just one of 92 schools across the state to earn the Virginia Board of Education’s Highest Achievement Award this year.

So that’s the good news. The bad is that once people graduate high school in Lunenburg, they’re not sticking around. College students aren’t coming back after graduating there either. 

“This situation makes it challenging to attract higher-paying industries and businesses to the area,” the new comprehensive plan states. “Typically, businesses seek a workforce that is not only ample but also skilled and well-trained.” 

So how do you address that? By convincing more people to take community college classes, other secondary education and train in skills that are needed.  

“Enhancing the skill level and education of the local labor force could help attract higher-paying job opportunities, which is essential for breaking the cycle of low income and poverty in Lunenburg County,” the document states. 

What is the comprehensive plan? 

What do you want for Victoria’s future? How about Lunenburg overall? Residents will have multiple chances next month to weigh in on the joint comprehensive plan being put together by Lunenburg County and the towns of Victoria and Kenbridge. 

“This was a team effort across all three jurisdictions and their capable representatives,” Lunenburg County Administrator Tracy Gee told the Dispatch. “It was a year-long process that was led by the Commonwealth Regional Council with buy-in from the County, Kenbridge, Victoria, Lunenburg County Public Schools, and VDOT.”

In the release of the document, Gee emphasized that “rather than a rigid blueprint, the Joint Plan serves as a flexible guide for decision-making and should be used as such.” Further changes to the plan require advertisement and public hearing. County officials are discussing meeting annually to review how the plan is serving the community going forward. 

Part of the concern surrounds a population problem and an age problem. According to data from the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center, the Lunenburg population is dropping and those remaining are aging out of the workforce. 

In 2000, Lunenburg had 13,146 residents. That fell by 232 in 2010 and another 978 in 2020. Despite a small increase from 2020 to the present day, the Weldon Cooper data projects that Lunenburg will see some severe losses over the next 26 years. 

Lunenburg County’s population was 11,936 in the 2020 census, and Weldon Cooper Center’s projections show slight growth in 2023 at 12,060. However, the study expects that to decline to 10,801 people in 2030, 10,046 in 2040 and 9,441 by 2050. 

Where can I read the plan?

If you want to read through the current proposed comprehensive plan, copies are available at the Lunenburg County Administration (434-696-2142), Kenbridge Town Office (434-676-2452), Victoria Town Office (434-696-2343), Ripberger Public Library in Kenbridge, and Victoria Public Library in Victoria. The file can also be viewed on the Lunenburg County website at www.lunenburgva.gov.

Brian Carlton is the editor of the Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch and can be reached at editor@kenbridgevictoriadispatch.com.

Editor’s note: Reporter Nate Pentecost contributed to this story.