ATTLEBORO - Bristol Community College has won a $282,000 grant to provide adult education in Attleboro and will share the funds with The Literacy Center.

The grant had been forfeited by the Attleboro school department when it decided to no longer provide adult education.

State Rep. John Lepper, R-Attleboro, said the state Board of Education has approved the grant. He said the award is good news for Attleboro because there was a chance the money could have been allocated to another city.

"I'm happy we are maintaining the same level of adult education services in Attleboro," he said.

Lepper, city officials and the school department were backing The Literacy Center's application for the grant. The Literacy Center had depended on funding from the school department to train volunteer tutors. That funding was lost when the schools turned back the grant to the state.

Lepper said the grant stipulates that BCC and The Literacy Center form a collaborative agreement to share the funds.

The Literacy Center would handle English and literacy training while BCC would offer adult education courses, he said.

Officials at both BCC and The Literacy Center said they had not yet seen the grant award, so they could not comment on the details, but said they were gratified to get the funding.

"We're very pleased because that money could have gone elsewhere. We're happy to be a part of it," Literacy Center Director Joan Ricci said.

Attleboro school officials announced discontinuation of the adult education program in July and returned grant funds after an audit determined the program was having difficulty retaining students and staff.

Officials said at that time they were seeking to have the grant shifted to The Literacy Center.