Melissa Kelley Black, a member of Naperville School District 203’s board of education, has not been assigned to any committees or adopt-a-schools for the year ahead, based on a recently published list.
Kelley Black, one of seven members on Naperville 203’s board, weighed in on the assignments at a meeting Monday, Aug. 3. Board President Charles Cush, who oversees the process, provided insight into Kelley Black’s absence from this year’s list.
Bills and claims, committee assignments
Naperville 203’s board of education has a longstanding practice of having a member review the district’s accumulated bills and claims from the month prior with a staffer within the finance department. The review typically occurs the Friday before the second board meeting of the month.
All seven board members are assigned to review bills and claims in the year ahead, with Kelley Black on the schedule for Feb. 16. Kelley Black historically has refrained from partaking in bills and claims reviews since she assumed office more than three years ago.
In addition to the rotating list of bills and claims responsibilities, board members — with the exception of Kelley Black — are assigned to one or more of 13 groups or serve as district representatives on membership organizations.
Home and School, the Citizen Finance and Facility Committee, and the Bilingual Parent Advisory Council are among the list of specific groups.
Each board member, with the exception of Kelley Black, is assigned to three to five buildings for adopt-a-school assignments.
Kelley Black speaks out on bills and claims, committees
In the past, Kelley Black has vocally opposed the district’s existing bills and claims review procedures. She has stated she does not believe the information provided is sufficient.
“The only thing listed, on the list (board members) receive, is who the payment was to, and the amount,” Kelley Black said at the recent meeting.
She later stated, “I do not have the authority to change how the bills and claims are done, but I will not put my name on the line, when I don’t have enough information. The fact that the leadership, and Mr. Cush, knows this, but keeps persisting in putting my name down, and arguing about it, is troublesome.”
On the matter of her omission from committee assignments for the year ahead, Kelley Black alleged the action was retaliatory.
“I apparently am capable of making fiduciary decisions regarding millions and millions of dollars, but I can’t walk through a school and do a school visit,” Kelley Black said.
Cush explains Kelley Black’s absence on other lists
When asked by Kelley Black at the recent meeting, Cush said her absence from committee assignments and adopt-a-schools was intertwined with her past abstention from participating in bills and claims processes.
“You are not assigned … optional responsibilities, because you refuse to do the required responsibilities that your peers have required that we all are going to do, and that we have all assumed, collectively,” Cush said to Kelley Black.
Speaking to the majority decision on bills and claims procedures, Cush said the rotating member assignments are written into board policy.
“All board members are expected to participate in the agreed upon bills and claims review process, as part of a board member’s fiduciary duties,” Cush said. “We, as a board, decide that that is what we are going to do.”
Cush in his comments also defended the board’s existing practice of reviewing and, ultimately, approving bills and claims for payment each month.
“We have a legal opinion from an attorney, who has signed their name to a document, suggesting that this is a good process,” Cush said.” We had an auditor, who audits this district every single year … and said, ‘This is a sound process.’”
Cush also shared with Kelley Black his view on what rights she does have as an individual board member.
“You, as an elected official, are entitled to the seat that you’re in, you’re entitled to vote on matters before the board, and you can go into the community and ask questions as many times as you want,” he said.
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