Like many school districts across Iowa, there is a sliver of optimism for an increase in state financial assistance after Gov. Kim Reynolds’ recent State of the State address.

“As many of you know, Gov. Reynolds indicated a possible 2 percent increase,” Fort Dodge Community School District Executive Director of Financial Services Brandon Hansel told the board Monday. “Obviously, this needs to go through the legislation before anything is final.”

“We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this,” said Superintendent Josh Porter. “Brandon will be making a trip to Des Moines this week to begin the work of the 2027 fiscal year, so he will have some information to share.”

Hansel also told the board that the district had revenue of just over $ 20.7 million and expenditures of $18.6 million in December.

“This is right in line with where we want to be,” he said.

In other action, the board:

n Approved the qualified construction manager at-risk firms and authorization to issue a request for proposals for the work settled around the recent bond passage. Zach Thompson of ISG Architects of Des Moines told the group that the top four contractors in the initial process were Hausmann Construction of Sioux Falls, S.D.;, Jensen Builders of Fort Dodge, Kolacia Construction of Fort Dodge, and Story Construction of Ames.

n Approved setting Feb. 9 at 6 p.m., as a date for the 2026-27 district calendar public hearing.

n Approved the final payout to Kolacia Construction for the Dodger Stadium project.

n Approved purchase of computers for HiSET Testing for the Gateway program at a cost of $10,392.69.

“Josh (Porter) and I had the walk-through for initial site approval last week,” Curriculum Director Teri Boezinger said. “Approval is pending, with the computer setup being a key item on the list. These units are very specific to the program.”

Butler Elementary Principal Laura Resnick also provided an update to the board on Monday.

“We continue to focus on a culture of learning,” she said. “We want to be building community relationships and partnerships by improving our data in many key areas, including literacy.” Resnick shared that attendance is a focus for her leadership team, too.

“The general feedback has been that there are skills students need, and our staff is processing this information,” she added. “We’re doing so by holding more one-on-one meetings with parents to determine needs and have some of the stronger teachers be coaches, when needed, to assist staff members.”

“I commend Laura for the work she has done in her first year,” Porter said. “She has taken the bull by the horns, as it were, and is working with her staff to do the best for their children, especially regarding literacy initiatives.”

The next meeting of the Fort Dodge Community School District is 6 p.m. Feb. 9.