VIENNA — Voters in the Maries R-1 School District have decisions to make about whom to vote for during the April 5 Municipal Election as a total of four candidates are running for three positions on the school board.

Incumbent Matt Novak stands alone in his quest for an elected position on the R-1 board. He was appointed to complete the term of former board member Cindy Petershagen, who moved from the school district. He is uncontested for the position.

The decisions by district voters is choosing two board members for the two three-year terms on the school board, in which three district patrons have expressed an interest.

Incumbent R-1 School Board members Joe Barnhart and Dave Long have both filed for reelection.

A newcomer put forth her name to become part of the R-1 board. That being Kacie James. 

Board candidates were kind enough to answer a couple of questions about their qualifications and reasons for serving the R-1 School District as a board member. Their answers follow:

Joe Barnhart

Joe Barnhart is a Vienna native and continues to live here today. He went to school at Maries R-1 in Vienna, followed by four years of college at Lincoln University, and then four years of dental school in Kansas City 

Barnhart said he realizes the value of education as a foundation for Maries R-1 students. “Our future depends on the success of our graduates. I want to do everything I can in order to ensure the health and viability of our school moving into the future.”

Kacie James

Kacie Lynne James has mostly lived in Vienna since she was six years old. There was a time when she says she “attempted to move away but I found myself right back in this quaint town.”

In 2012, she married Tyler “TC” James and they have four “ornery but amazing children”—Parker, 11, Tanner, 8, Noralynne, 6, and Raelynne, 6, who all attend Maries R-I.

James graduated from Vienna High School in 2004. From there she attended Mizzou. “Turns out, that college is way too big for a small-town girl like me,” she said. James completed my freshman year on campus and then transferred to Columbia College Online where she earned my Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resource Management. James worked in the human resources field for six years, mainly at a staffing agency where she managed over 100 employees. “Although I enjoyed helping people find jobs, I wanted to reach people at a younger age.” In response, she earned her Masters of Elementary Education from Grand Canyon University in 2012 and began her teaching career at Maries R-I as a 3rd grade teacher. She continued her education, earning her Masters of Elementary Administration. 

In 2017, James was offered a position as an Assistant Principal in Fulton, MO. The Fulton School District is similar yet different from Maries R-I. “They are a lot bigger district, and I gained an enormous amount of knowledge,” James said. “However, again my heart kept pulling back to Vienna. Plus, I felt as if I was missing my children growing up due to the long drive to Fulton.

Currently, James works as the youth librarian for Heartland Regional Library. This position allows her to interact with youth and to provide families with valuable resources the public library has to offer. “Fortunately for me, I get to visit students in different school districts to promote my love for reading! When I walk down the hallway at schools, and students recognize me and holler out (although this may be frowned upon) it brings me joy,” she said.

She is seeking election for the Maries R-I School Board to help her school district be successful. “My knowledge from being a former teacher and assistant principal makes me an asset to the school board.” She notes communication and building positive relationships are skills she has learned and mastered over the years, which again, are more skills she believes are valuable to the school board. “I have been inside the school district and understand the needs and wants of students and staff,” she said. “Students and staff should be our priority and I’d like to be a part of making those decisions.”

As a former teacher and parent of students at Maries R-I, James said she has seen the positive changes the school has made. “I want to continue to see positive changes for the youth of this community.” 

Dave Long

Dave Long, 46, Vienna, is a current member of the Maries R-1 School Board. He is seeking reelection to the board for a second term. Long says he likes being part of the Maries R-1 School Board and would like to continue to be a member.

Long is married to Julie (Steuber) Long and they have three children: Brittany, who is employed with the Maries County Soil and Water Conservation District, Alicia, who is a student at State

Technical College, Linn, and Dylan, who is an 8th grader at Maries R-1.

Long works at MFA-Vienna and Argyle, and with his family, operates a farm. 

He is a life-long resident of Maries County, graduating from Maries R-1 in 1993. For the past 21 years he has been a volunteer for the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department. He has always been involved with his kids’ sports as well as 4-H and FFA activities. Long says he always has the kids and the school at heart. It’s important to him.

He is seeking another term on the R-1 School Board because he likes it and feels good about what the school board has accomplished. Long sees positive things happening for the school district and forward movement made possible in part by the ESSER money, which has helped the school achieve some goals it previously could not afford to do. 

Long said it is the kids who are his priority. He wants to help the school district continue to move in the right direction. “I’m hoping to help that happen,” he said. Long added that he has tried to be a positive influence on the board with common sense thinking. 

“We’ve made some good strides. I want to help it keep going in the right direction,” he said.

Matt Novak

Matt Novak was raised in Minneapolis, MN and came to south central Missouri through the Army. After he became stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, he met his wife, Nadine (Finnigan) Novak, who was raised near Dixon. The couple married in 2001 and in 2004, moved to their house close to the southern border of Maries County, so they could remain close to Nadine’s family. They have been raising their three daughters, Sadie, Madeleine and Andrea, in that home ever since. 

Novak, 57, attended the University of Minnesota where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1988. He then attended Michigan State University and received a Master’s Degree (1995) and a PhD (2002), both in Psychology. He currently works for the Harry S. Truman Veterans’ Hospital at the Waynesville Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) as a Clinical Psychologist. He has been there since October 2007. Novak also is a member of the Army Reserve, where he currently holds the rank of Colonel and serves as Chief of Clinical Operations for the Operational Command Post of the 807th Medical Command (Deployment Support) in Salt Lake City, UT. He holds an additional appointment in the Reserves as the United States Army Reserve Clinical Psychology Consultant to the Army Surgeon General. 

He wishes to continue serving the Maries R-1 School Board “To continue to improve the quality of the education our students receive and to add to the many physical improvements we have made to the school over the last several years.”