Multnomah Education Service District board members Danny Cage (from left), Helen Ying, Katrina Doughty and Jessica Arzate celebrate getting together at a 2023 back-to-school event. (Photo courtesy of Danny Cage)
TikTok videos helped lead to school board service for Danny Cage.
It’s an unusual path to a board seat, but then Cage, 19, is of a different generation than most school board members.
“I haven’t found anyone really close to my age,” he said.
Elected to the Multnomah Education Service District School Board last year while still in high school, Cage is likely the youngest school board member in Oregon. Cage is firmly ensconced in today’s issues, but he is also the future of school board service.
OSBA does not keep records on school board member demographics, but at conventions and conferences, attendees are visibly younger and more diverse than they were just a few years ago.
The heightened political climate has led to friction on some school boards, but it has also generated more interest from a wide range of community members. Social media allows more access and more engagement than in the past.
Angelita Morillo, a Portland City Council candidate, started creating TikTok videos to explain the workings of city hall, where she worked. She said the majority of her followers are ages 18-35.
Morillo said she was already aware of Cage because of his community activism, but they connected through her TikTok account. When she learned of the open school board seat, she encouraged Cage to run.
“I think having school board members who know what schools are like right now is really important,” she said.
Cage has long been civic minded. He has been on the Environmental Justice Council in the governor’s office since 2022, and he served as a legislative intern in 2023. He is a Portland Community College student while working as the community liaison for Participatory Budgeting Oregon, which works to give communities more control over how public money is spent.
Cage said his family and friends were not surprised when he ran for the open Multnomah seat. Cage doesn’t think his political engagement is entirely unusual among Generation Z, either. He said social media platforms have made political discourse more accessible for younger people.
Multnomah ESD serves one of Oregon’s most diverse areas and has one of the state’s most diverse boards. Cage identifies as Black, Mexican and queer.
“I think it is really important to model that leadership can be Black or Brown or queer or young,” he said.
Cage is clear, though, that he aims to represent the voices of all the people who elected him.
In addition to incorporating environmental concerns into education policy, he wants to work to maintain current services to schools while also addressing disparities in services related to race and location. He said it’s important for people to understand that Multnomah County isn’t just Portland Public Schools, and he wants to elevate those other schools’ needs.
Multnomah ESD Board Chair Katrina Doughty said Cage has done an admirable job learning how an ESD board’s focus must be broader than a district’s board. She said one of his greatest qualities is his openness to learning about the role and not being set in his ways. She said his questions push an examination of the board’s work.
“There’s a refreshing opportunity every time we bring in new folks,” said Doughty, an OSBA Board member.
Doughty, who said she was the ESD’s youngest board member when she was elected at 28, also encouraged Cage to run for the open spot.
“I really like making sure we have school board members in touch with what current students are going through,” she said.
On issues such as technology, students live in a different reality than many previous generations are familiar or comfortable with, she said.
Cage says he hasn’t felt hindered by his young age, but it does come up frequently. He has even been mistaken as the son of fellow board member Denyse Peterson.
Peterson has been impressed by Cage and found the mistake flattering. She said young people such as Cage present an opportunity for more seasoned school board members to share their experience. She said the younger generation’s perspectives need to be included.
“How can we take all of these different perspectives and mesh them together to come up with something that is a positive for the children?” Peterson said.
Cage said he is learning a lot on the school board. He said the OSBA Annual Convention sessions in November demonstrated what could be accomplished by passionate advocates working together even when they don’t fully agree.
“The best work for our community and our students and our staff is going to come out of collaboration,” he said.
– Jake Arnold, OSBA
jarnold@osba.org
