3 new candidates run for 2 Fatima school board seats

Three candidates are on the ballot for two open seats on the Osage R-3 (Fatima) School Board during the April 3 municipal election. None of those three candidates are currently serving on the board.

Scott Berhorst, Bradley Gabelsberger and Suzanne Massman will compete for the three-year termed positions, replacing current board members Steve Brune and Charlene Eisterhold.

Scott Berhorst

Berhorst graduated from Fatima and has lived in Westphalia all his life. He has two daughters in the high school and one who graduated from Fatima.

Berhorst said he does not have much political experience, but has served on different local boards and committees. He said he wants to bring a common-sense approach to the position, focusing on the years to come for the school district.

"(I) want to get the ball rolling, looking at the future," Berhorst said.

He works at Westphalia Vineyards.

Berhorst added he is happy with the work of the previous school board and believes Fatima offers a private school quality of education at a public school.

Bradley Gabelsberger

Gabelsberger has two students at Fatima now and is a lifelong resident of the area.

He said his children are in elementary school, and one focus of his is to make the school safer with more security.

Gabelsberger is a union carpenter and has worked on and rebuilt several schools, including Joplin High School after a tornado hit the city in 2011.

He said he has seen a lot of waste with the design of school buildings and would focus on efficiency as a board member.

"Let's not do 'pretty-pretty,' let's do practical," Gabelsberger said.

Suzanne Massman

Massman has served as president and vice president for the St. Joseph (Westphalia) Home and School Association. She also has served as president and vice president for the school's athletic committee.

"I've always been very active in my kids' school," Massman said.

She has one daughter attending Fatima High School and another who will soon.

Massman and her husband have lived in the Westphalia area their entire lives, both graduating from Fatima, she added.

Massman has thought about running for the school board for several years, and she decided it was time with both daughters soon attending the public school district.

She is a nurse and works in a management position at St. Mary's Hospital.

Massman said there is nothing specific she wants to accomplish, instead setting a goal to be an active part of the school board.

"My goal is just to be present and to be part of something I can make some changes to for the better," she said. "I just want to be there to support the community."