The closure of Danville’s textile mill almost 20 years ago was followed by a drop in student test scores. The city is still working on a comeback.

The closure of Danville’s textile mill almost 20 years ago was followed by a drop in student test scores. The city is still working on a comeback.

Danvillians have affectionately dubbed their hometown “the comeback city” for the way it has rebounded from a severe economic downturn after the main industry, a textile mill, shut down two decades ago. The city has bounced back in many areas — economic development, tourism and visitation, blight removal, crime reduction — but public education is not yet one of these.  Coming Wednesday Danville has increased the amount it spends on education an…