A 2-year cooperative sports agreement for track with Leland and St. Mary schools was approved this week by the Suttons Bay Board of Education.

Board members voted 6-0 Monday, with trustee Terry Kelty absent, to approve an agreement with the Michigan High School Athletic Association for the joint track program for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school year.

St. Mary students have long participated on the Suttons Bay track team. However, Leland students weren’t added to the mix until this year.

The 2-year agreement was not approved without question. Suttons Bay fields a cooperative football team with St. Mary, and a girls’ soccer team that includes athletes from all county schools except Glen Lake.

“I’d hate to see Suttons Bay students suffer (a lack of playing time, etc.) when out-of-district students or homeschooled students are playing,” trustee Steve Hall said.

Superintendent Mike Murray told board members that’s not likely based on enrollment projections.

“My concern is that when our elementary classes with 40 to 45 students hit the high school, there may not be enough students to fill a whole roster,” Murray said.

In other business during the 2-hour meeting, the board agreed to opt out of the state’s schools of choice policy and instead participate in the procedure established by the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District.

Board members also approved a slew of policy updates from NEOLA, a company that providers boiler-plate bylaws, policies, administrative guidelines and procedures to school districts by subscription. The policies cover everything from the proper care, custody and display of the American flag to the Family Medical Leave Act.