School districts all over Iowa are having a tough time right now. Enrollment is dropping, costs keep going up, and state funding isn’t keeping pace. A lot of communities have had to make painful cuts — slashing programs, letting good teachers go, and scaling back the very things families count on most.

Fort Dodge faces those same pressures. We’ve seen enrollment decline just like everybody else, and that hits our funding directly. But here’s the difference: we didn’t wait for a crisis to start planning. We’ve been making careful, steady adjustments for years so we wouldn’t have to make drastic ones all at once. To us, being stable means living within our means and making sure we can serve future generations of Dodgers just as well as we serve today’s kids.

And it shows. The State of Iowa and industry trade groups consistently view Fort Dodge as one of the top-performing school districts in the state when it comes to financial management. Our financial measures are considered statistically perfect by state standards. The district has received clean audits year after year and has won numerous awards for the quality of its financial reporting. On top of that, we recently earned an A+ bond rating, with the ratings agency specifically crediting our management team’s responsive and skillful execution. That kind of recognition doesn’t come from luck. It comes from doing the work every single day.

We’ve done all of this while holding the line on property taxes, too. Our rate of property tax growth is half the state average and well below the rate of inflation. That matters to every homeowner and business in Fort Dodge. Sound financial management shouldn’t mean asking taxpayers to shoulder more and more every year.

Executive Director of Finance Brandon Hansel deserves a lot of credit for keeping us on track. Hansel said, “All credit goes to Superintendent Porter and our school board for being intentional about long-term planning. The easiest thing to do in a tough budget year is react. The hardest thing — and the right thing — is to have already planned for it. That’s the standard we hold ourselves to every single day.”

Our approach is pretty straightforward: invest directly in students and classrooms, match staffing to enrollment realities, watch every dollar, and make small adjustments over time instead of big, disruptive cuts. That’s let us keep our programs, retain good teachers, and maintain the quality of education our families expect.

Unfortunately, not every district in Iowa can say the same. Some have found themselves in real trouble. The Iowa City School District is in the middle of a full-blown financial crisis after spending more than $13 million beyond what it budgeted, taking out a $10 million loan without school board approval, and falling two years behind on its audits. They’re now cutting $7.5 million, taking out more loans, and raising property taxes 10 percent — all while community members call it mismanagement. The state has had to step in with other districts too, requiring corrective action plans from schools that spent beyond their means and ended up with negative balances. About 2/3 of Iowa school districts are now in budget trouble because funding can’t keep up with enrollment declines. These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. When a district loses control of its finances, it’s the kids and the taxpayers who pay the price.

Fort Dodge has kept right on offering strong academics and activities without any of that kind of disruption. That consistency matters — to students, to staff who’ve built careers here, and to families who depend on their schools.

Good leadership in public education doesn’t usually make the news. It’s the quiet, steady work of planning ahead and making responsible choices. Fort Dodge is fortunate to have leaders who take that responsibility seriously, and current and past school board members who have paved the way.

Strong schools are the foundation of a strong community. The Fort Dodge Community School District has shown it can navigate real financial challenges without sacrificing what matters most. That’s something every person in this community can be proud of — especially in times of uncertainty.

Josh Porter is the superintendent of the Fort Dodge Community School District.