Amid unanswered questions about the findings of an internal review that North Shore School District 112 conducted following accusations of misconduct from the Illinois State Board of Education, a key district figure will be resigning at the end of the school year.Business Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Jeremy Davis, who was accused of misconduct by the ISBE and a food vendor originally passed over for a contract, is leaving the district effective June 30.
D112 Superintendent Michael Lubelfeld would not say if Davis’ resignation was related to last year’s controversy or the subsequent internal review the district conducted with a law firm. The district’s “responses are consistent upon the advice of counsel,” he said.
Davis did not respond to an offer to give comment, and has previously declined to comment on the controversy.
The findings of the review have remained a secret despite being presented to the board; multiple requests for comments to board members and a Freedom of Information Act request were denied.
When asked last week if — after the current RFP process was completed — information from the report would be released, Lubelfeld said there was a “possibility”.
“But I can’t today confirm or deny that anything more will be stated,” Lubelfeld said.
OrganicLife complaint
Last year, OrganicLife, the longtime food vendor for the district, filed a complaint after it was passed over for a new contract in favor of Quest, accusing both the district and Davis of making undue changes to the request for proposal process, unfairly favoring Quest, communicating with a Quest representative on a personal cell and failing to report a bribe.
Based on OrganicLife’s complaint, ISBE sent a letter to the district rescinding its prior approval for the contract with Quest and halting federal funding until the district made an emergency one-year contract with OrganicLife.
D112 has put out a new RFP for a food vendor contract, although the process has been changed since last year; Davis is not involved in this year’s RFP, according to the District.
While the district is refraining from giving comments about Davis as he steps down, it had previously defended him, at least behind the scenes. In letters obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request to the ISBE, lawyers with the district had pushed back on OrganicLife’s “unfounded” allegations.
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Separately, the Del Galdo Law Group, saying it was representing Davis, sent a letter to the ISBE criticizing the decision to rescind approval and levy allegations against Davis after having made “no inquiry” of Davis or providing him an opportunity to defend himself. The ISBE’s letter perpetuated the spread of “false information,” they said.
According to the Del Galdo letter, Davis actually began his career at the ISBE working as a grant monitor. He also previously served as director of business in Wheeling School District No. 21, chief school business official in O’Fallon Township High School District 203 and assistant superintendent in Crystal Lake School District 155.
The letter requested that the ISBE retract its accusations of misconduct against Davis, but it’s unclear whether any such action has been taken.
The letter also refuted accusations of a bribe, which were based on a text message a Quest representative had sent Davis. A screenshot of the exchange shows the Quest representative asking Davis if he was interested in going to a Cubs game, and Davis turned down the offer since it was from a vendor.
The district would not say if Davis has faced any disciplinary action related to the allegations, and a FOIA request for any records of disciplinary action between 2020 and today did not pull up any responsive records.
The district said it wasn’t aware of any additional action being taken against D112. In regard to the RFP review, the district said it did not “have anything additional to share beyond what we have previously stated.”
As D112 moves ahead with its new RFP for a food vendor, Lubelfeld said last year’s process had been “informative.”
“I’ve learned a great deal, and I’m looking forward to continuing to set the district up to feed all of our children as we increase our food services,” Lubelfeld said.