Two grants from the Alcoa Foundation will save the Seneca Valley School District $40,000 in teacher training costs.

The district recently learned that it will receive a $25,000 grant from Alcoa to be used by elementary and middle school teachers in professional development training with professors from the University of Pittsburgh to improve student mathematical achievement.

A separate $15,000 grant from the Alcoa Foundation will be used for professional development of elementary and middle school teachers with Lead to Learn consultants to increase reading comprehension skills in pupils.

"This is $40,000 we had budgeted for and that we didn't know we were getting [from grants]," superintendent Tracy Vitale said. "This will offset our tax dollars."

Ms. Vitale said Seneca Valley received a smaller grant last year from the foundation and it also was used for teacher training.

Also at Monday's school board meeting, it was announced that the district will receive $2,500 from the Seneca Valley Foundation for science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, education in grades 7-12, officials said.

The Seneca Valley Foundation also is giving $1,000 to purchase Leveled Literacy Intervention Reading Books for district elementary schools and $3,000 toward the cost of new band uniforms.

The Seneca Valley Foundation was launched last year to alleviate district costs through private fundraising. The foundation has a new website that will accept donations: razoo.com/seneca-valley-foundation.