ALPENA — Alpena Public Schools programs will receive over $140,000 in grant funds from the Alpena County Youth and Recreation millage for 2019.

Superintendent John VanWagoner said during Wednesday’s APS Finance Committee meeting that the district expects to be awarded after Jan. 1 with grant funds for different school clubs, athletic teams, and elementary schools.

“It’s a real benefit to our students,” VanWagoner said.

The Alpena High School stadium lights project was given $5,000 from the millage. VanWagoner said the district has now collected an amount where it’s able to purchase the remaining four lights for the stadium. He said donations, along with the grant funds, will cover the costs. The APS Board of Education is expected to approve the purchase during Monday’s meeting.

The grant funds will also help improve athletic facilities at Alpena High while the high school robotics program will receive a large amount of money to help support the upcoming robotics season.

Sanborn Elementary School received $10,000 for playground equipment and Wilson Elementary School received $400 for T-shirts for its robotics and Science Olympiad programs. The Thunder Bay Junior High School Athletic Outreach Program received $17,210 to give sixth-graders athletic support and free admission for games.

Organizations had to request funds from the county’s Youth and Recreation Committee.

Assistant Superintendent Diane Block said the grant funds cannot go to directly to APS, so the grant funds go to different groups and organizations within the school.

VanWagoner said the grant funds are all going toward great things to help the district.

“I’m just very appreciative that the committee has awarded those groups that have asked,” he said.

Alpena County voters in August renewed a 0.5-mill property tax, costing the owners of a $100,000 house about $25 a year, for the Youth and Recreation programs.

Julie Goldberg can be reached at 989-358-5688 or jgoldberg@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jkgoldberg12.