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Board dispute over bills-and-claims, minutes and audit erupts; $36.37 million in warrants approved 6–1
Summary
A prolonged Jan. 21 debate centered on a board member’s refusal to participate in the rotating bills-and-claims review, accuracy of minutes and unanswered audit questions; the board approved warrants totaling $36,367,401.47 and several other consent items, while dissenting votes came from Board member Melissa Kelly Black.
At the Jan. 21, 2025 Naperville CUSD 203 Board of Education meeting, a lengthy and often heated exchange unfolded after Board member Melissa Kelly Black said she would not take part in the board’s rotating monthly bills-and-claims review, citing unanswered budget and audit questions and a personal unwillingness to sign off on district expenditures she did not consider sufficiently documented.
The discussion began after the board moved into open session and reached the consent agenda. Board members identified a rotating schedule for bills-and-claims review that had been sent to members in August 2024. According to board discussion, an email confirming materials was sent to board members at 1:51 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2025. Several members said the assigned board member had declined to participate; others said the board’s longstanding practice requires members to perform assigned duties.
“I am not going to put my name on something if I don't feel it's accurate information,” Board member Melissa Kelly Black said, explaining that her concern was both about access to answers on audit questions and about signing a fiduciary attestation before she was satisfied the information was correct.
Other board members criticized her decision. One board member called opting out “shirking responsibility,” noting that other members had performed the bills-and-claims role repeatedly since Black joined the board; another said the responsibility cannot be reassigned simply because a member objects to the process. Black countered that she had repeatedly asked for answers to questions about the budget and audit and that she had been unable to obtain the responses in the form she requests. She asked that the board add an item to a near-term agenda to address internal controls and documentation for board operations.
Financial and audit staff responded that questions submitted by board members had been answered and distributed in a board update at 4:46 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2025. Mike Francis (staff member) summarized the audit management letter items the district is addressing, saying the auditors’ recommendations included updates to the outstanding-check write-off policy and clarifications to the capital asset policy; he said staff planned follow-up calls with auditors and would bring a policy adjustment to the board by March.
After extended debate, the board voted on the bills-and-claims warrant motion. The motion as presented read that warrant numbers 1065575 through 1066299 and warrant number 9000101 totaled $36,367,401.47 for the period Dec. 17, 2024 to Jan. 21, 2025. The roll call produced a 6–1 vote: Kelly Black voted no; the remaining members present voted yes. The motion passed.
Other consent and action items taken that evening included approval of the personnel report (item 7.02), approval of the board meeting minutes for Dec. 16 and Jan. 7 (item 7.03) and approval of closed-session minutes (item 7.04). On both minutes votes, Board member Kelly Black voted no while other members voted to approve the minutes. The board approved the memorandum of agreement with NUEA to fill a 0.2 FTE certified nurse vacancy (item 10.01) and authorized emergency building work after repeated carbon-monoxide alarms at the administration building (item 10.02). The board was informed the furnace replacement estimate was below the statutory informal-bid threshold ($50,000) and staff reported a low bid of $49,726.
A notable exchange occurred over language in the closed-session minutes about whether district counsel said materials could be released publicly. A board member asked that the minutes be corrected to reflect that attorney Joe Prokofsky had said the materials could be released and that the board had elected not to. Other board members and district counsel said the attorney declined to offer an opinion in open session; the board ultimately voted to approve the closed-session minutes, with one nay.
Summary of formal actions (as recorded in the meeting):
- Personnel report (item 7.02): motion to approve the personnel report as presented — approved by roll call (all present voted yes).
- Bills and claims (item 7.01): motion to approve warrant numbers 1065575–1066299 and warrant number 9000101, totaling $36,367,401.47 (period Dec. 17, 2024–Jan. 21, 2025) — approved 6–1 (Kelly Black voted no).
- Board meeting minutes (item 7.03): motion to approve minutes for Dec. 16 and Jan. 7 — approved (Kelly Black voted no).
- Closed-session minutes (item 7.04): motion to approve closed session minutes for Dec. 16 and Jan. 7 — approved (Kelly Black voted no).
- Memorandum of Agreement with NUEA (item 10.01): approved by roll call (unanimous among present members recorded).
- Emergency building improvements (item 10.02): motion to authorize emergency furnace and building repairs at the administration center; staff reported low responsive estimate below the $50,000 bid threshold ($49,726) — approved by roll call.
Several board members and staff emphasized transparency and the public’s right to information while noting the legal limits on releasing records discussed in closed session. Board members asked for clearer written onboarding and operational procedures to reduce future misunderstandings about duties, agendas and access to documents. The board scheduled no additional action on audit items that evening; administration said follow-up and policy adjustments would be brought to the board in coming weeks.
