Naperville District 203 School Board President Charles Cush said there are no conflicts of interest for two board members who are connected to the Alive Center, a nonprofit Naperville organization that empowers teens.
His announcement comes in the wake of allegations raised by board member Melissa Kelley Black, who said fellow board members Amanda McMillen, executive director of the Alive Center, and Marc Willensky, a member of the center's board of directors, could “personally benefit from their positions as elected officials.â€
Kelley Black made the comments on social media and at an Aug. 3 board meeting, when — during a discussion on renewing Superintendent Dan Bridges' contract — she said McMillen should recuse herself from voting because “the superintendent facilitates contracts for her place of employment where she is the executive director.â€
Cush addressed the allegations at Monday's board meeting, saying the district has no contracts with the Alive Center and the board members have not benefited from their involvement with both organizations.
“I am making this statement for transparency to our community and to address the detrimental impact that this board member's recent conduct and allegations have had,†Cush said.
The district's legal counsel reviewed any potential conflicts more than a year ago, Cush said.
Prior to McMillen becoming the Alive Center's executive director in August 2024, the district used the Alive Center's facilities on “a limited basis†but did not enter into a contract with the center for its facility usage or any other reason, according to the legal memo dated Feb. 3, 2025, from the district's law firm Robbins Schwartz.
“Moreover, there is no indication that board member McMillen used her board role inappropriately relative to her employment with the Alive Center,†the district's legal team concluded.
The district's lawyers said in the memo that they were asked to clarify “recent unfounded allegations†on whether there was a conflict of interest related to McMillen's employment. The memo was included as part of the Aug. 17 agenda's supplemental material, which is posted on the district website.
“Setting aside the fact there is no conflict of interest related to these board members' involvement with the Alive Center, this public post attacking fellow board members is reckless and disparaging and in violation of board policy, the board member oath and board member norms,†Cush said.
Kelley Black was not allowed to speak after Cush's statement but said Tuesday that a letter from 2025 does not address her concerns over whether board members should abstain from voting on bills to the organization or on the recent vote for the superintendent's contract.
She said when the district pays the Alive Center, anyone associated with the center should recuse themselves from voting on those bills. She said she wants to protect the integrity of the board and public's trust involving taxpayer money.
“There's no way a letter from 2025 is a response to issues in 2026,†Kelley Black said.
Kelley Black shared a document showing a $9,400 payment from the district to the Alive Center dated March 24, 2025. It was part of a group of bills totaling about $28 million approved by a 6-0 vote. Willensky was not yet on the board.
According to district spokesperson LeeAnn Betz, speaking in an email, that payment was the last expenditure made to the Alive Center and was for a summer school program completed in July 2024, a month before McMillen was hired as the center's executive director. The payment date reflects when the invoice was processed and not the start of a new service or program, she said.
“The district has not initiated any new paid services with the Alive Center since that time, and there have been no payments for new services since (McMillen) assumed that role (as executive director),†Betz said.
Prior to that, district records show about $32,455 in payments made to the Alive Center since 2018, Betz said. Those payments were associated primarily with junior high and high school after-school summer programming. A payment of $312 in 2018 was for co-sponsorship of a FIRST LEGO League scrimmage and was paid from student activity funds, she said.
Currently, the Superintendent Student Advisory Council uses space at the Alive Center for meetings five or six times a year at no cost to the district, Betz said.
McMillen said it has been difficult to be publicly attacked for something that has no merit.
“As President Cush mentioned, there is absolutely no conflict of interest,†she said. “I don't know why (Kelley Black) is attacking me, but it's completely baseless.â€
Cush said Kelley Black's post about McMillen and Willensky violated two board censure resolutions taken against Kelley Black in 2025. One was for “unprofessional conduct detrimental to District 203†and the other for “making false and disparaging comments about the board on public and private forums and channels.â€
Cush said, “The censure resolution directed (Kelley-Black) to cease and desist from engaging in behavior such as making disparaging comments toward other board members.â€
Kelley Black said she has been frequently attacked while on the board but will question district business because the community appreciates that she does.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
