HOUGHTON — The Houghton-Portage Township Schools board added a new member Monday.

Julie Cischke was appointed to the board, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Vice President Scott Leonard.

“I was made aware of the need, and I am passionate about supporting our community and our kids, and it just seemed like a way I could do something,” she said.

Superintendent Anders Hill said Leonard, who’d joined the board in 2018, had been a great board member who was supportive of the district’s students and staff, and Hill as a new superintendent.

“He had a son graduate, and all of his kids have come through Houghton,” he said. “I just think he felt maybe it was time to move on. He’s an awesome board member, and I’m thankful he gave that chunk of time through some difficult decisions and years … those were eventful times and he really served our students and tried really hard to make good decisions.”

The board voted to have Brent Burns assume the vice president role, while Mike Salmi took Burns’ former position of secretary.

Asked about her priorities on the board, Cischke said she would be doing a lot of learning about how school boards work.

“I appreciate greatly what the educators are doing for our kids,” she said. “I think they’re underappreciated, probably underpaid. I might not have any ability to change any of that, but to be feeling like I’m on the team that is supporting them, the efforts they are making, is important to me.”

Cischke has two children at the high school. Her oldest child is a sophomore at Michigan Technological University.

She and her husband had homeschooled their children through middle school but worked with the district to partner with the elementary school for music, gym and art education.

“Then as they got into middle school and high school, we were looking for ways to make sure that they were learning how to learn from people who weren’t mom and dad, that they had opportunities to play sports and do other things that are a little tricky to pull off as a homeschooler, and to get their feet wet and be ready for the wide world,” she said. “It’s gone well. They’re succeeding academically.”

In other action, the board:

• Approved the Houghton High School course listing. It includes two new semester-long electives: Film and literature, and creative writing. The school also added an Advanced Placement class in computer science.

• Hired Terrie Delaere, a special education teacher in the elementary school. She spent the past year as a resource room teacher in Ontonagon, and has also worked as a paraprofessional. Before going into education, she worked as a sheriff’s deputy.

• Approved fall athletic coaches. New hires include soccer coach Mark Lounibos, varsity football assistant Nathan Erva, assistant junior varsity coach Buster Roberts and middle school football coaches Ron Peryam, Cole Klein and Micah Stipech.