At Monday’s meeting, the Houghton-Portage Township Schools Board approved a two-year agreement with Hancock, Jeffers, Lake Linden, Chassell and Dollar Bay.

Most of those schools are already participating in co-ops in a hodgepodge of configurations, said Athletic Director John Sanregret.

“Of course, the argument is always ‘if we don’t allow them to compete, maybe they’ll school-of-choice here,” he said. “But then on the other hand, you can take the approach that, once they come here, and see what a great school we have here as an athlete, maybe they would want to come here anyway, just to experience their full education here.”

The decision must be approved by all superintendents, principals and athletic directors in the participating schools. Coaches had also supported the move, Sanregret said.

Provided photo Houghton-Hancock’s Jenna Stein competes during Division 2 State Finals at Boyne Highlands Resort in 2017.

The school’s athletic divisions — Division I in swimming and Division II in skiing — will be unchanged.

There have been a declining number of ski programs in the U.P., Sanregret said. From 13 or 14 schools when Sanregret was a student, the number has dropped to four — Marquette, Norway Ironwood and Houghton. In swimming, Houghton is one of nine schools that compete in the single U.P. division.

While this year’s swim team had good numbers, almost half the team was seniors, Sanregret said. Seniors also made up nine of 14 members of the ski team.

“I think for us next year, we could use some more kids in both sports,” Sanregret said.

In another athletic development, the Michigan High School Athletic Association approved the wheelchair track-and-field category. Para-athletes will be able to compete in regionals and U.P. Finals in shotput and the 100-, 200- and 400-meter races. Houghton High School senior Maria Velat was a key figure in pushing for the change.

“The way the state has adopted this isn’t exactly what she wanted, but it’s a great start,” Sanregret said. “It’s a great accomplishment for her, and for our school.”

Sanregret said Houghton would likely have to continue to play the Copper Bowl with Hancock in the middle of the season. The reduced number of schools in the U.P. with 11-man football has made scheduling more difficult, he said. For the Copper Bowl to finish the season, Houghton would not be able to play a full schedule, he said.

“We have to go with what we have,” he said. “I’m just thankful we have a nine-game schedule.”

In other action, the board:

— Heard from Elementary Principal Cole Klein students had logged just under 500,000 minutes of reading in March. Klein kept his promise to students and shaved his beard (which he has since grown back). Students in third through fifth grades will also come to the high school to view an early performance of the high school’s weekend play, “The Wizard of Oz.” The high school band will also perform for fourth and fifth-graders Friday.

— Heard from Superintendent Anders Hill the school’s FIRST Robotics team competed during the World Championship in Houston, which was held last weekend. The district also held a focus group with parents, teachers, administrators and board members on how to spend the district’s COVID-19 relief funds. Major focuses were outdoor learning spaces and mental health supports, particularly in elementary schools.

— Heard from High School Principal Tiffany Scullion the Business Professionals of America team will be heading to Nationals in Texas from May 4-8.

— Approved a contract with U.P. Janitorial.

— Approved the purchase of a new elementary reading series. It is an update from the publisher of the same series the district has been using since 2011, which no longer has online support.

— Went into executive session for negotiations. No action was taken when the meeting resumed.