The continuing process of the Fort Dodge Senior High School renovation and financing highlighted the Fort Dodge Community School District Board meeting Monday.

Brandon Hansel, executive director of financial services, presented the board with approval items for making Jensen Builders, Ltd., of Fort Dodge, the construction manager at risk and setting the date for the public sale of $42,040,000 in general obligation school bonds.

The board approved the official naming of Jensen Builders as the construction manager at risk and the sale of the bonds, which is scheduled for April 27.

“The sale announcement approval does three things,” Hansel said. “It sets the date of the public sale, authorizes Piper Sandler and Company of Des Moines to distribute an official statement and approves the use of an electronic bidding platform.”

The bonds to be sold were approved by school district voters on Nov. 4, 2025, by a roughly 75 percent majority.

The district has a property tax levy of $2.48 per $1,000 of taxable value that is dedicated to paying off bond issues. That levy was extended with no tax increase as a result of the November vote.

The planned renovation work will impact just about every area of the 1958 vintage high school, some of which looks the same as the day it opened.

In other action, the board:

• Approved the purchase of a package of new monitors from Dell for districtwide staff use at a cost of $12,206.10.

• Approved a second reading of revisions to civil rights primer policies.

• Approved a bid of $73,842 from Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota for the purchase of two food service box trucks for delivering meals to all school locations.

• Approved the February financial reports. According to Hansel, the district took in $28.6 million in revenues and had expenses of $28 million for the period from Feb. 1 through Feb. 28.

The board also heard a report from Feelhaver Elementary Principal Sara Fitzgerald. She presented a video of students talking about continuing work and strong improvements in literacy for the building.

“Our two biggest goals for the year are increasing reading growth and proficiency and working on curriculum implementation, pacing, and instructional practices,” she said. “It’s been great to see the positives, which include fewer and fewer group interventions for second and third grades and hitting important skill levels in the fourth and fifth grades in regards to literacy.”

Superintendent Josh Porter talked about the recent distribution of contracts for districtwide staff, and said that there are some openings to fill.

“We are still recruiting for candidates,” he said.

Porter also talked about an April 8 open house for the recently created Thrive program, which has a director in place; the April 10 Go Big, Go Dodger event; the approval of the Gateway program; and districtwide ISTEP testing this week.

The next meeting of the Fort Dodge Community School District Board is 6 p.m. April 6.