The Houghton-Portage Township Schools Board reconfirmed their COVID-19 delivery method, accepted the audit report, welcomed Troop 207 and said farewell to Crystal Verran at last week’s regular school board meeting.

The Boy Scouts of Troop 207 tuned in to the meeting as part of earning their ‘Citizenship in the Community’ merit badge.

“Part of the requirements are to attend some sort of public meeting,” explained Amanda Massaway, vice president of the school board. “So we’re happy to have all the scouts with us today, including my two.”

The board also said their farewells to board member and secretary Crystal Verran.

“Crystal Verran, who has served on our board in many ways since joining in 2010 is leaving the Houghton area to follow her husband who has taken a job out of state,” Board President Nels Christopherson said.

Verran announced to the board she had also found employment where she is moving, and will be leaving her position as director of operations for marketing and communications at Michigan Technological University.

Verran served on many of the school board committees, and represented the district to the Copper Country Association of School Boards as well.

Christopherson thanked her for her dedication to the work and wished her luck in future endeavors.

Christina Smigowski, an audit supervisor with Rukkila, Negro and Associates accounting firm, presented the results of this year’s audit.

“We issued an unmodified opinion, which is a positive,” Smigowski said.

She said they had one recommendation on the budget in the report, but didn’t elaborate, and said everything else looked good.

“Those are the words we love to hear from an auditor ‘Looks really good’,” Christopherson said.

HPTS committed to offering students a choice between virtual and in-person education options, when possible, at the beginning of the school year and voted unanimously to continue with their current plan.

Director of the Food Service, Shelby Turnquist, reported that there have been more and more requests for at-home meals. Also, because they have offered seven meals a week to those students learning virtually from home, they are now also offering two meals a week to those students taking classes in-person, who eat the other five at school.

Turnquist also said that Christmas donations had allowed the food service to pay off balances for all students in their system in fifth grade or below.

“So I’d really like to thank the community for that,” Turnquist said. “They’ve been just wonderful in supporting us.”

Brian Irizarry, Houghton City Council member and father of three elementary school aged children, asked the board about the status of their support for a Safe Routes To School grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The program offers 100% grants for a variety of infrastructure safety improvements to encourage walking and bicycling to school.

Christopherson thanked Irizarry for his interest and dedication and said that while talks have continued on the SRTS grant program, the administration has been wholly focused on the COVID-19 situation this year, and will continue to talk about pursuing SRTS as they can.

“Beyond these brief comments, it’s our board policy really not to debate or discuss comments at a board meeting but to assure that they will be looked into appropriately,” he said.