By KELBY WINGERT

kwingert@messengernews.net

The Fort Dodge Community School District Board of Education has given the district superintendent more latitude in making decisions regarding school closures during a public emergency.

The board passed a new policy during its Monday night meeting that gives Superintendent Jesse Ulrich the authority to make those determinations without having to make a request to the school board.

The addition of this policy is a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, Ulrich said.

“I think a worldwide pandemic would fall under the ’emergency’ category,” he said.

Ulrich said he will still communicate with the school board, district administrators and parents if and when the situation arises that a building or the entire district has to close.

“The only thing the policy is doing is clearly defining that the board is directing the superintendent to make the decision of if and when we need to change modes of instruction for our students,” he said.

School board members Diane Pratt and Matt Moritz were sworn in at the start of the meeting, both having been elected during the Sept. 8 school board election. Moritz had served on the board since June of this year, being appointed after member Steve Springer died.

The board approved a $19,112 supplemental project to cover adjustments requested for the new Central Administration Office and Maintenance Facility, which was completed earlier this month.

The supplemental project and its cost is not part of the contract for the full project because it includes items not included in the original project.

“Once you’re in a new facility, it’s normal once you’re in it to realize, ‘Oh, I wish we had another cabinet here, or wish this countertop was a little larger,'” Ulrich explained.

Ulrich said the district is not required to put a supplemental project out to bid and is using the project’s original contractors, Woodruff Construction, of Fort Dodge, because the work will be included in the warranty on the rest of the remodel project.

The school board also approved a special education service delivery plan, which is reviewed every five years. This plan covers guidelines on how to best provide special education services to the district’s students who need them.

The next school board meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, at the Central Administration Office, 109 N. 25th St.