Controversial Oak Park and River Forest High School teacher Anthony Clark has resigned his special education teaching position at the school. On Thursday, the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Board of Education unanimously approved a resignation agreement with Clark without discussing the matter in open session. Clark was one of three teachers accused of antisemitism by River Forest resident and parent Nate Mellman, who filed a formal complaint with the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office last summer about Clark, English teacher Dan Cohen and special education teacher Wafaa Alwawi. Cohen and Alwawi are the faculty sponsors of OPRF’s Middle Eastern and North African group. Mellman is now running for a seat on the OPRF school board. Board members and Superintendent Greg Johnson declined to comment about what led up to the resignation agreement. OPRF Executive Director of Communications Karin Sullivan was terse when asked about Clark’s resignation on Dec. 20. “We wish him well,” Sullivan said when asked about what led up to Clark’s resignation and how it came about. “I’m not going to comment about the details.” Mellman’s stance toward Clark hadn’t changed. “Good riddance,” Mellman said Friday in a text message. “He posted on social media that most Jews are racist. He said that Jews control the media. And he falsely accused a Jewish student of airdropping a swastika during an assembly. Neither the administration nor the board have publicly condemned those social media posts. They have some explaining to do.” Clark did not immediately respond to an emailed request for an interview or for comment. Pioneer Press has filed a public records request to see a copy of the resignation agreement but has not yet received a copy of the agreement. Oak Park and River Forest High School teacher Anthony Clark speaks during a 2019 vigil for student Michael Reese, 17, at Scoville Park in Oak Park, after Reese was shot in Chicago and died five days later of his injuries. Clark resigned this week from his teaching post at the high school, officials said. (Steve Schering/Pioneer Press) Clark, a graduate of OPRF, has been a teacher at OPRF for more than decade. His social media posts, mostly on X (formerly known as Twitter), have been occasionally controversial in the last 14 months, including one post in which Clark incorrectly stated the student who airdropped a swastika during a 2018 assembly at the school was Jewish. Sullivan wouldn’t confirm or deny if Clark had faced any disciplinary measures leading up to his resignation. “Can’t comment on personnel matters,” Sullivan said. Clark was both an activist and a teacher. He ran for Congress in 2018 and 2020, challenging longtime incumbent Danny Davis in the Democratic primary. In 2018 Clark carried Oak Park and River Forest and received 39% of the vote against Davis in a two person race. In the 2020 primary Clark finished second to Davis in a four candidate field receiving nearly 26% of the vote. In 2021 Clark ran for a seat on the Oak Park Village Board finishing sixth out of six candidates but receiving 4,961 votes. Clark was popular and had a following among activists inside and outside OPRF. “He was very liked,” said one OPRF teacher who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the situation. “He’s a really nice guy. He’s really charismatic, he’s really smart. I think he connects with kids.” Clark founded the student hip hop club and Comedy Club at OPRF. In 2016 Clark founded the Suburban Unity Alliance which advocates for equity and community engagement. Clark helped organize a student walkout at OPRF in 2019 that protested police violence and honored Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in 2012. In 2016 Clark organized a march from Oak Park to Forest Park to protest racism and discrimination that drew at least 100 participants according to media reports. Clark, a special education teacher, co-taught history classes. His position will be posted and filled by substitutes until a new teacher is hired, Sullivan said. Bob Skolnik is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.