District 203 board member censured for second time in less than a year

For the second time since January, Naperville Unit District 203 school board member Melissa Kelley Black has been censured for conduct described as unprofessional and detrimental to the district.

School board members approved the latest censure in a 6-1 vote Monday. Kelley Black, who was elected to the board in 2023, cast the only dissenting vote.

“Unfortunately, the violations and detrimental behavior outlined in the prior censure have continued,” school board President Charles Cush said in a prepared statement. “Because of that — because we have a board member who continues to violate those directives — we find ourselves here yet again.”

Kelley Black, who was first censured in January, rebuked the latest reprimand by questioning its legality. She says she wants an independent review by the Regional Office of Education or the Illinois State Board of Education to determine if the board’s action is retaliatory. She also questioned what she described as a “lack of evidence” against her.

“The Supreme Court has been clear,” she said. “Elected officials cannot be punished for speaking out on public issues. Transparency and oversight are not misconduct. They are my sworn duty to the taxpayers who elected me.

“Silencing elected officials for speaking truthfully does not build trust or unity; it erodes it,” she added.

The board’s resolution to censure Kelley Black points to various social media posts made during the time the board was negotiating a new contract with the union representing the district’s teachers.

In one post, Kelley Black wrote she only knows what the public knows regarding negotiations and directs questions to the district’s negotiating team, which included Cush and board Vice President Kristine Gericke.

In another post, Kelley Black expresses concern that the district is not considering using surplus funds to address a potential strike and says that she “knows first hand about the gaslighting, name calling and false accusations.”

The resolution to censure notes that the posts undermined the district’s negotiating position with the union and disparaged the district’s reputation. Both posts were shared by the Naperville Unit Education Association, the union representing the district’s teachers, on their social media page.

The resolution also refers to two social media posts in which Kelley Black questions if the district has abandoned the Innovative School Experience proposal, which included block scheduling and changes in start and end times for the school day. As part of the contract talks, the district dropped any language referring to the Innovative School Experience proposal from the contract.

In her statement, Kelley Black said the district has not provided documentation to show that her posts directly impacted negotiations with the teachers union.

The resolution also includes a formal letter sent to Kelley Black in April, in which she was chastised for posting information about the superintendent’s evaluation. The letter notes that her social media post was based on information provided during closed-door meetings and that her comments disparaged fellow school board members and the district.

While board members were each allowed to make statements before the vote, Kelley Black was prevented from making a rebuttal to comments made after her initial remarks. However, she later expressed additional concerns when the board appointed her as a delegate to the Illinois Association of School Boards.

“Am I to understand that this board just censured me for a second time and each read off a long list of complaints about me … and now you are nominating me to represent our district at a statewide conference,” Kelley Black asked of the board, expressing shock at the appointment.

Board members defended the appointment, saying that despite the censure, they remained hopeful the board could work together.