For the Gazette

STEVENS POINT — The League of Women Voters recently had candidates from the District 9 and school board primary races on Feb. 19 answer three important questions regarding their candidacy. All answers are verbatim below.

Jodi Rentfrow

Brief Bio

I was born and raised in Plover where I attended Roosevelt Elementary School, Ben Franklin Junior High and Stevens Point Area High School (SPASH). I attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I graduated with high honors in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Work. I also earned an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in 1996.

My past employment includes positions as an Early Childhood Program Director and a Continuing Education Instructor in the Eastern Wisconsin Region as well as holding National Sales Manager and Medical Claims Liaison for the Minnesota Department of Health positions at HealthPartners, Inc.  For the past seven years, I have extensively volunteered at Plover-Whiting Elementary school in the Stevens Point School District and where I have also spent the last three years as the PTO President. As a proud mom of three daughters who attend school in the Stevens Point Public School District, I look forward to using my local knowledge as a former student, continued higher education, work experiences and my recent volunteer experiences in the school district to better serve on the Stevens Point Area School District Board of Education.

Why are you seeking public office? 

Staff retention, student and staff safety and student well-being are the three priorities I will focus on as a new school board member. Our evolving community requires the school district to continually train and retain quality staff as our cultural, socio-economic status, race and special education needs evolve. I believe high staff retention through competitive wages and benefits will create a stronger tax base by keeping families of students and staff in our school district. Property taxes have a tremendous impact on our Stevens Point Areas School District’s success and these allocations must be managed well to fund our schools while not putting a burden on families. My twelve years as a parent, seven years volunteering in the classroom and three years as the PTO President at Plover-Whiting have provided me the framework to better understand the needs of the students and staff in our district firsthand. They have also inspired me to want to make a difference in our school district by being elected to the school board this spring.

What are the biggest issues facing the school board in the coming years?

Staff Retention, Staff and Student Safety and Student Well-being.  Maintaining a safe, yet productive learning environment, obtaining staff retention through competitive benefits and salaries and providing our students with the proper tools mentally and physically to be well educated citizens in both our community and for any community they may choose in the future.