Leland students will be allowed to be part of the Suttons Bay track team, members of the Leland Board of Education learned Monday night.

Superintendent Mike Hartigan reported that the executive committee of the Michigan High School Athletic Association approved the district’s request to add Leland to the teams participating in girls’ and boys’ track in a cooperative arrangement with Suttons Bay. It will be an extension of an existing cooperative agreement between Suttons Bay and Lake Leelanau St. Mary.

“The enrollment (of each school) will keep Suttons Bay in the same division and won’t bump them into a division with larger schools,” Hartigan.

The combined high school enrollment of 567 students in the three high schools ensures that the continued placement of the team in Division III.

Northwest Conference members approved formation of the cooperative arrangement earlier this fall.

In related — yet more controversial business Monday — board members discussed at length a proposed policy that would allow students to participate in more than one athletic activity/extracurricular activity simultaneously.

As proposed, student-athletes would indicate interest in dual participation in writing to coaches/advisors/ (drama) directors and the athletic director a minimum of one month prior to the first practice. A “primary” activity would be identified and students would participate in the activity when games/practices conflict.

All parties involved — athlete, coach, director and the athletic director — would have to sign a contract and a meeting with parents would be scheduled to discuss the upcoming dual sports and activities.

Although board members agreed there’s a need for the policy, they disagreed on another proposed guideline that would require students to disclose participation in any non-school sports team or activity. The same language would give the coach/director of the primary activity the discretion to reject participation in the non-school activity.

The proposed policy has been referred to a committee comprised of trustees Peter Sneed, Maynard (Rink) Wheeler and Peggy Gauthier for further review.

In other business during the regular monthly meeting the board approved Principal Terry Breen and athletic director Ryan Knudsen’s recommendation to fill two coaching positions with people already known to the community.

Joe Nedow was given the nod as high school girls’ softball coach, replacing Charlie Gann, who stepped down this spring. Megan Munoz, who coached seventh grade girls’ basketball at Leland this fall, will serve as the volleyball coach for the same age group this winter.