The District 90 school board election is a week away. It is quite the strange election cycle. No open debates. The caucus was a five-person circus with no endorsements. There are four candidates for three open seats. Calvin “Cal” Davis, is the incumbent, the seasoned community servant among newcomers Kristine Mackey, Eric Isenberg, and Joe Cortese.
But there is only one name that is recognized in connection with being active in the community and that is Cal Davis. Cal started out as a community activist, who along with neighbors, fought against the park district trying to put a dog park at the Washington and Park Triangle. In case you did not know, the Washington and Park Triangle was the end of the line for the cable car that moved through the village in the early 1900s.
Maybe patterned after the cable car’s path, Cal’s next community endeavor was Lincoln School’s Pancake breakfast. Cal created an idea, which the PTO still implements today, a .5K Run/Walk so little kids could participate in a healthy physical activity with their families. He continued to support the Pan K 5K & .5K even after his children were no longer Lincoln students. Currently, both Lincoln and Willard utilize the Pan K 5K & .5K as a means to bring families together.
As a D90 board member and parent volunteer, he has served on various committees, including the Interview Committee to support the hiring of quality staff members and administrators, the Calendar Committee, the Five-Year Planning Committee, and the Finance Committee, where he is currently serving as Committee Chairman.
Cal’s volunteerism is not limited to D90. He is the vice chair of the River Forest Family Services Committee (formally the River Forest Youth Services Committee) where he works to allocate funds for Police and Library programs. He also serves on the executive board of ED-RED (Education/Research/Development), which is a lobbying group to fight for the rights of school districts in Illinois. He extends his service to OPRF as a member of the Community Finance Committee, the committee that advises OPRF’s school board on tax levies and provides guidance regarding the district’s fiscal operations, and as a member of OPRF’s Culture, Climate, and Behavior Committee, the committee that provides the board of ed recommendations to create a welcoming school environment where students feel a sense of belonging. He serves as vice president of the West Cook Governing Board, an organization that educates school board members on board governance.
His qualifications and community volunteerism are unmatched by any of his opponents in the race for D90’s school board.
Citizens for Calvin “Cal” Davis for D90
