A union of ag, tech, and business. LGSD received over 123k CTE Revitalization Grant
By Garrett Christensen on Friday, October 16th, 2026 in Northeastern Oregon News Northeastern Oregon Top Stories
LA GRANDE – At the beginning of September, The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) announced the recipients of the 2025-2027 CTE Revitalization Grant Program, designed to support local agricultural and technical programs and stimulate economic development. In total, four Eastern Oregon School Districts received major grant funding. Among them, the La Grande school district received a massive $123,214 thousand dollar grant to fund a technical overhaul and expansion of its agricultural mechanics and business programs. As written in the project abstract published by ODE:
“La Grande High School’s project, Growing Local Talent: Strengthening Agricultural and Business Programs of Study, will expand authentic, career-connected learning opportunities within the district’s existing high-quality Agricultural and Business Programs of Study.”
According to La Grande High School (LHS) Assistant Principal Samuel Firorito, who served as the project director, the district initially submitted the grant proposal in the spring of the 25-26 school year. With the funding now in hand, La Grande High School students can expect major expansions in both the Agricultural Mechanics and Business Marketing programs. When the upgrades are completed, students will not only have new physical tools available to them, but major opportunities to apply their hands-on skills to real world careers. As described by Fiorito when discussing the incoming upgrades:
“Two programs are getting substantial upgrades. Agricultural Mechanics students will have a fully equipped shop with diagnostic scanners, a drill press, hydraulic press, engine stand and crane, and the tooling to work on brakes, hydraulics, and power systems. On the business side, we’re replacing 35 workstations in the marketing lab with machines that can actually handle video editing, photography, and graphic design. We’re also planning an event production system for the gym that students will run themselves for school and community events.”
Further helping get the in-house promotional event system off the ground, the Tiger Booster Club has committed to donating and partnering with the district, with Fiorito noting, “That matters. It means this isn’t just state money landing in La Grande. It’s the community investing alongside it. “
According to the abstract, the new mechanical equipment will give students the capability to “engage in diagnostics, electrical systems, braking systems, steering and suspension, hydraulics, preventative maintenance, restoration projects, and precision agricultural technologies,” on the mechanical side. Meanwhile, business-oriented students will be able to engage in professional graphic design, digital media, marketing campaigns, and, as mentioned, event productions. In a recent interview, LGSD Assistant Superintendent Scott Carpenter even mentioned that one of the program’s first projects will be to refurbish the district’s old agricultural truck so that it can be used for parades and promotional events.
Readers may have picked up that, compared to some previous grants, including those CTE revitalization grants received by other districts, La Grande’s funding is being put heavily towards technical and business expansions as opposed to a mix of technical and ag science expansions. Fiorito explained that this is intentional and that agricultural mechanics and business are a essential aspects of modern agriculture, remarking that, “a modern tractor has more computing power than most offices.”
This isn’t to downplay the importance of ag sciences, but to recognize the sheer technical complexity of modern agriculture, and the need for both mechanical and business knowledge to stand alongside agrarian knowledge in for students to succeed, with Fiorito remarking further:
“Our students are learning diagnostics, hydraulics, electrical systems, and agriculture technology because that’s what the work looks like now in Union County and across Eastern Oregon.”
Beyond the in-house technical and event projects, students will have an opportunity to collaborate with local businesses. Current partners include Integrity Automotive, Michael A. Becker General Contractor, as well as local media outlets. The goal is for students to develop opportunities for mentorship, job-shadowing, internships, and career-connected learning, as well as bringing in guest speakers and advisors.
For the media aspect specifically, according to Fiorito, students will participate in “authentic client work,” and produce media for display at local businesses and sporting events. Longterm, according to the abstract, the hope is for students to explore “high-skill, high-wage, and in demand careers,” and prepare themselves for future career opportunities, college education, life in general in Eastern Oregon.
Regardless of which program students involve themselves in and what their future ends up looking like, La Grande’s students are a precipice of major technical and educational overhaul and slew of new opportunities. Students won’t just have new tools and software, they’ll be directly involved in and support the community as part of their education and, potentially, their future careers. As put best by Fiorito:
“I am personally very excited for expanded opportunities for our students at LHS. I love the fact that we get to put updated technology in the hands of our students that gets them ready for life outside of high school. Go Tigers!”
The LGSD weren’t the only ones to receive major CTE grants, as Wallowa, Imbler, and Elgin also received funding.
Our previous article on Wallowa’s CTE Grant can be found here, and Elgin’s here. Elkhorn Media Group has reached out to Imbler and is currently awaiting a response.
**
(A stock image was used for this article)
