Crystal Lake doctor reflects on serving 32 years on the District 155 board

CRYSTAL LAKE – More than 36,000 students have graduated from Community High School District 155 during Dr. Gary Oberg's 32 years on the district's board.

When Oberg first joined the District 155 board in 1985, there were no tablets or high-tech whiteboards to help teach the children, just blackboards and overhead projectors.

Oberg decided to run because he thought his background, skills and knowledge as a physician would translate well to the school board.

“My medical career and desire to be on the board have closely paralleled each other over the years,” Oberg said.

Oberg attended Crystal Lake Community High School, which he graduated from in 1964. The 70-year-old doctor now works in Crystal Lake practicing functional and environmental medicine after receiving a medical degree from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine in 1972. Environmental medicine involves environmental inputs and an individual’s physical, mental and emotional responses to them. Functional medicine addresses the causes of all chronic health problems.

With his unique set of skills, he was an important part in creating a new nutrition and wellness class during the 2016-17 school year at Prairie Ridge and Crystal Lake Central high schools. The course promotes wellness efforts that intend to keep students healthy physically and mentally.

“It’s teaching kids not how to practice medicine but how the body works, which I think is a very important concept for kids,” Oberg said. “Wellness is not assumed to be a given state of the body, but one that must be actively earned and maintained.”

During his eight terms on the board, Oberg said one of his proudest accomplishments is when the board decided to build Prairie Ridge High School. Oberg was on the Building and Grounds Committee during that time, and he helped incorporate principles of good environmental practices in its construction.

“He brought wisdom and balance to the district along with his expertise in the medical field, which was so valuable because we basically changed all of our buildings based on his recommendations,” said former board president Ted Wagner, who served on the board for 20 years.

The district oversees Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, Prairie Ridge and Cary-Grove high schools. It also is responsible for the alternative programs at the Haber Oaks campus in Cary. All told, the district serves 6,500 students taught by 376 teachers with an annual budget of about $97 million.

Oberg also was a part of a number of programs that started while he was on the board, such as Project Lead the Way, STRIVE and the Language Academy, and he has served on the Wellness Committee working with the district’s food services to improve the quality of the diet in all of the schools’ food programs.

“One reason I continued to be on the board for eight terms is because of the satisfaction I have working with polished and dedicated superintendents, faculty and staff of D-155,” Oberg said. “It’s just exhilarating and enjoyable to watch these programs progress over the years, and how everyone is working together to make things better and keep things improving.”

During his tenure, Oberg has worked with six superintendents, the latest being Superintendent Johnnie Thomas.

Oberg helped approve several expansions and renovations over the years, including Cary-Grove’s D and E wings, media center and Fine Arts Center; Crystal Lake South’s two expansions in 2003 and 2006; and the opening of the Haber Oaks Campus School, an alternative education campus in Cary that offers a therapeutic day program.

But being on a school board doesn’t come without some controversy, as Oberg was around when the district spent $1.2 million to install 50-foot-tall bleachers at the Crystal Lake South football field in 2013.

However, the district had to reduce the size of the expansion two years later after the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in favor of neighbors and the city who argued that the bleachers violated city rules. The issue even sparked new legislation to clarify that school districts must comply with local zoning laws when they erect school buildings or other facilities.

Oberg declined to discuss the bleacher topic.

“I’m much more interested in sharing the valuable things that the board has been doing for 32 years than I am for one hiccup,” Oberg said.

Oberg said he retired because he believed it was time to turn over the duties to the next generation.

“I have great confidence that the next generation is going to continue these great programs here and create new ones,” Oberg said.

Oberg was recognized in 2013 by the Illinois Association of School Boards for being the longest-serving board member in McHenry County and one of the longest in the state.

His last board meeting was in April.

“At my last meeting we had members of the Prairie Ridge football team there,” Oberg said. “And it occurred to me I helped plan that school, watch the school grow over 20 years, and my last act with the district was to congratulate these kids for winning the state championship. So it was a fitting end.”