Board member accused of recording a closed panel meeting without consent
Complaint filed against Naperville school official
A Naperville District 203 School Board member censured in January for her conduct is now the subject of an eavesdropping complaint submitted to the Naperville Police Department and the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
In a letter sent to the state’s attorney’s office from the district’s legal counsel, district officials allege board member Melissa Kelley Black made a recording of a budget advisory committee meeting without getting the consent of those in attendance, as required by state law.
No response to the complaint has been issued or charges filed as of this past week, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
The recording came to light at a June 2 school board meeting at which budgetary issues were being discussed, documents show.
During the discussion, Kelley Black said she had attended a May 14 meeting of the Citizens Finance Committee, a group made up of five Naperville community members, two district administrators and two board members, at which concerns were raised about district finances, including whether there would be a need to cut positions or to seek a tax referendum.
As part of her comments in June, she mentioned that she had recorded the committee meeting.
Because the committee is not a public body, its meetings are not covered by the Illinois Open Meetings Act, according to the letter from the district’s attorneys.
Participants would have to give permission to be recorded under state law.
Kelley Black said during the June 2 meeting that her recording device was “right in front of us,” which was also noted in the district lawyer’s letter to State’s Attorney Robert Berlin.
In an interview with the Naperville Sun, she said she did not want to get into the details of the recording because it is the subject of a legal complaint, but stressed that she believes it is her duty as a school board member to ask difficult questions, especially on the budget, and to ensure district money is spent wisely.
She said she welcomes a third-party investigation, and is certain she will be cleared of any wrongdoing.
“I am disappointed they so carelessly throw around accusations,” she said.
At the June 2 school board meeting, Superintendent Dan Bridges made note of the fact that she had recorded what committee members had said, documents show.
“Did you get permission from everybody who attended or did you just violate the Eavesdropping Act in Illinois?” he asked.
Later he said, “I will be following up on the statement about recordings.”
A list of members of the Citizens Finance Committee was provided to the Naperville Police Department by the district’s attorneys.
Police Chief Jason Arres responded via email that an “investigation will begin promptly.”
Bridges also contacted the committee members to let them know about the recording, and stressed that Kelley Black’s action was not condoned by the school district or by board policies, according to documents received through the FOIA request.
One member, whose name was redacted from the FOIA request, responded that they were “somewhat shocked” that Kelley Black would record the meeting without their consent.
Kelley Black, in an email sent to the Naperville Sun, said she believes Bridges deliberately ignored the budget questions she raised at the June 2 meeting by seizing on her comment about the recording.
“After requesting clarification from Superintendent Bridges regarding his comments about potential staff reductions, student service cuts and a possible referendum, I raised concerns about inconsistent financial messaging and the board’s limited access to key financial documentation.
This information is essential particularly as we continue voting on major capital projects and other long-term commitments.
“Rather than addressing these concerns collaboratively, the superintendent responded with public accusations and initiated a complaint without authorization from the board.
I believe this response has generated unnecessary conflict and distraction at a time when unity and professional dialogue are especially important.”
According to the district’s communications department, the Citizens Finance Committee serves as an advisory group for the review of key financial matters, such as the budget, levy and audit. It meets two to three times a year in closed forums designed to encourage open dialogue.
The committee does not have any decision-making authority, the district said.
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“Due to the ongoing investigation into this matter, we are unable to comment further on the specifics of the incident at this time,” Lisa Xagas, assistant superintendent for strategy and engagement, said in an email.
During a recent board meeting, Kelley Black said she believed the district was trying to intimidate her by having police officers come to her house to question her on the issue, especially right before the school board’s self-evaluation session.
“There’s something wrong that an elected official giving back to their community has to endure that,” Kelley Black said at the July 14 school board meeting.
“This just isn’t good governance in my opinion. I think an outside evaluation would correct it and then we can all stop arguing and work together.”
Kelley Black also questioned whether the district’s lawyers, who represent the school board, should be involved in the matter.
Legal counsel should advise the board as a collective body, not the private interests of an administrator or individual board members, she said.
“Our community entrusts us with the responsibility of using district funds, and we must ensure that every expenditure, especially for legal counsel, is aligned with the board-approved purposes and complies with our ethical obligations,” she said.
At the meeting where she raised questions about the complaint, board President Charles Cush stressed that Bridges had openly stated that he planned to follow up on the fact that Kelley Black had said she recorded the meeting.
“There is a third party already investigating this, and they will handle it,” Cush said.
Board Vice President Kristine Gericke added that she believes it is her responsibility to alert authorities when she believes a law has been broken.
“I heard an admission of what I reasonably thought was breaking a law,” she said. “… I also believe it’s important for the community to understand that we do take our responsibilities very seriously, and that to me was common sense to report that we felt a law was broken.”
Kelley Black sent an email to the DuPage County Regional Office of Education Board saying she planned to seek legal counsel.
She also requested the board reschedule its self-evaluation in the wake of officers coming to her home, saying she believed it was part of a pattern of harassment and intimidation by the superintendent, who should not be part of the evaluation session.
In an email back to Kelley Black, Cush accused her of trying to distract from the issue at hand.
“Your attempt to attack and threaten the superintendent for performing his duties as the administrative head of the District is clearly an attempt to divert attention from your misconduct,” he wrote.
“The District will continue to cooperate in having a review of your admissions on recording private discussions without consent. In the meantime, the Board meeting will proceed as scheduled and the Board will continue to conduct the business of the District.”
The board has had previous conflicts with Kelley Black, and in January voted to censure her for unprofessional and damaging actions, citing her disclosure of private student information, spread of false information and release of collective bargaining information.
Kelley Black, who was elected to the board in April 2023, denied the allegations.
She has said she is a proponent of transparency, wants to ensure fiscal responsibility and ran for school board because of her love of education.
Board members said at the time that they had tried to resolve issues with her over her conduct for about a year and a half before acting to censure her.
According to recent documents, the board is still trying to resolve those issues.
The school board wrote to Kelley Black in April notifying her that she was in violation of a censure resolution.
“Member Kelley Black continues to disrupt Board meetings, both open and closed sessions, with frequent unwarranted criticism and attacks on the Superintendent and his administrative team,” according to a June letter from Cush to the DuPage County Regional Office of Education.
The letter states that the criticism and attacks are generally performative and Kelley Black willfully refuses to read the information provided to her by the administrative team.
Kelley Black said she was unaware of the letter and worries that decisions are being made by individual board members and not as a collective body.
“I have never once received a complaint from a parent or a staff member,” Kelley Black said.
“Due to the ongoing investigation into this matter, we are unable to comment further on the specifics of the incident at this time,” Lisa Xagas, assistant superintendent for strategy and engagement, said in an email.
