By Sterling McGinn
Recently hired Tahquamenon Area Schools (TAS) K-6 grade principal Matt Furtney, and athletic director, Anthony Kitzman, both submitted letters of resignation to the TAS Board of Education, which were accepted at the October 20, 2025, meeting held in Curtis at the Portage Township Hall at 6 p.m.
All board members were present and only four members of the public attended.
Furtney, who was hired at a September 30 special meeting, was filling the position of retiring principal Kendra Feldhusen, who had planned to retire at the end of October. Furtney is resigning immediately.
In his letter of resignation, Furtney said: “This was not an easy decision to make, as I was truly excited to be a member of you dedicated team…however, a unique opportunity has arisen that is a better fit for my long-term career and family goals.”
The board excepted the resignation of Anthony Kitzman as district athletic director effective November 15. His resignation as cross-country coach and from student council takes effect immediately.
“Thank you for moving the needle with a lot of things with our students,” said TAS Board President Eric Feldhusen.
No reason for Kitzman’s resignation was shared at the meeting.
The board met in Curtis as part of an initiative to better engage other townships and communities within the TAS district. No members of the Curtis community attended, and some board members felt the off-campus meeting should have been better advertised.
Tebo said she would prefer having the meetings back at the school. The board discussed live streaming the meetings to reach more people.
The newly renovated middle school roof is leaking, the board learned, and the high school roof continues to leak. Shingles around the second floor of the building were not replaced in the bond project due to materials containing asbestos.
“I know it wasn’t part of the bond project, but the windows that face M-123, that have the shingles on the top, that part of the ceiling leaks into the classrooms,” said high school teacher Christine Rathje. “It is leaking down onto the drop ceiling, so onto the tiles.” Tebo said she will look into the matter.
Three companies came to look at the old high school roof, which is leaking significantly. Only one of the three companies were interested in the project.
“The third company, Great Lakes Roofing, actually installed the old roof in the 1990s, so they have all the old paperwork so they may just be the right company to come in and patch it for us.”
Tebo noted that all boilers in the old high school building so the heat can be turned off. The electricity cannot be shut off until the internet hub is moved to the newer portion of the facility.
In other business, the board passed a resolution to join a nationwide PowerSchool Holdings Inc., lawsuit. The lawsuit stems from a PowerSchool data breach in December of 2024.
Finally, the board moved to closed session to review an application for employment.
