A new $5,000 grant to the Westborough public schools “was like having a Secret Santa walk in the door,” School Superintendent Marianne O’Connor says.

The Forbes Kirside Foundation Inc.’s support will go toward “programs for Westboro students only who cannot afford to pay for the sports, fine arts, Kindergarten tuition and after school programs,” Forbes President Lynn Henry told OConnor in a Dec. 10 letter.

O’Connor told the school committee Wednesday night the foundation had “not offered monies to the school district before.”

 “I hope this is a longstanding relationship, because they’re wonderful,” O’Connor said.