City Donates to Upgrade Welding Facilities at LGISD

The La Grange Economic Development Corporation (EDC) approved $55,317 in funding to upgrade welding facilities at La Grange ISD.

The La Grange Education Support Foundation requested the financial assistance to improve the high school welding shop.

The La Grange City Council signed off on the request at their meeting Monday night, March 22.

Assistant La Grange High School Principal Nathan Truex told the Council Monday night that the school has excelled at preparing students for college or the military. He said the District wants to improve its programs for careerreadiness. In addition, he said the programs are increasingly popular with students.

“In our Intro to Welding class, we went from roughly 30 students last year to 60 students this year,” he said. “That’s going to continue to grow.”

High School Principal John Pineda said the State of Texas has also encouraged schools to adopt programs for students wishing to enter the workforce after high school.

“The pendulum has swung to career-readiness,” Pineda said. “We’re excited about it because we have some of the infrastructure in place.”

As part of this effort, the school wants to expand and improve its welding shop. Plans call for an additional two welding booths, new welding tables, new welding equipment, and a fume extraction system. The total cost is estimated at $165,312.96. The La Grange Education Support Foundation requested $55,317 from the EDC.

The EDC Board approved the request on March 19, but it required an amendment to their annual budget. Accordingly, the City Council had to approve the request as well. The request passed Monday night without opposition. Councilwoman Bonnie Busch abstained from voting since her husband is John Pineda, the High School Principal. However, Busch said she supports the school’s effort to expand its career-readiness programs.