Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado
AURORA | Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Chris Smith has unexpectedly resigned and school officials said Wednesday he will retire from the district this week.
The news follows a television investigation into allegations made by district employees about a “toxic” work environment, but Smith’s resignation and the television reports are unrelated, according to school district officials.
The board accepted Smith’s resignation during an executive session Tuesday night. His resignation is effective Friday. Smith submitted a formal resignation letter and announced his retirement Wednesday.
The announcement comes after a series of Denver7 TV news ran reports stating that “dozens” of insiders described a lack of avenues for employee complaints because Smith and the district’s chief human resources officer, Brenda Smith, are married.
Neither Smith nor board members addressed those allegations publicly.
School Board President Anne Egan in a statement thanked Smith for his leadership of the 53,000-student district, citing accomplishments during his tenure that included the creation of Traverse, a mental health facility for students, voter approval of school construction bonds totaling more than $1 billion, and the launch of the Aspiring Educators Pathway.
Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Perry was named interim superintendent.
One of the allegations made in the Channel 7 story focused on Smith’s wife, Brenda, who is the district’s chief of human resources. Sources for the Channel 7 story said their relationship posed a conflict of interest.
School officials said Wednesday that Brenda Smith remains with the district in her current position.
Board Vice Chair Angela Garland said the school board will begin the process of selecting a permanent superintendent at its Feb. 6 study session.
She also said the district plans to review its conflict policy, contracts, travel policies and overall district culture, topics that were announced during a public study session.
In a separate statement, Smith said his decision to retire was guided by a focus on students and the district’s long-term strength.
“I am incredibly proud to have led a district that truly values every student and works every day to ensure opportunity, belonging, and excellence for all,” Smith said.
Smith said the district expanded “Pathways of Purpose,” launched programs including Leadership Academy and Traverse Academy, and invested more than $1 billion in schools and community projects during his tenure. He said he has confidence in the district’s future leadership.
Smith was appointed superintendent in 2021. He came to the district in 2009 after working as a teacher and principal in the Douglas County School District, according to his district bio. He was a principal at Coyote Hills Elementary School and then served as executive director of elementary education.
He moved to the Cherry Creek district’s chief of staff role in 2018.
In that role, Smith led the district’s planning for the return to in-person and online learning in the fall, helped supervise its Future Forward strategic plan and helped restructure district security.
The former school board unanimously voted for Smith to be the finalist after a rigorous application process between him and another internal candidate, assistant superintendent Jennifer Perry. They were the only candidates considered, according to past reporting in the Sentinel.
Perry has now assumed the top position for now.
Are the board members who said they will review CCSD conflict policy, contracts, travel policies and overall district culture the same ones who allowed the conflict of interest?
Seems like the board created the conflict of interest. They should be resigning not Mr. Smith. Also, very interesting that the two final candidates for the position the board unanimously voted Mr Smith for the position, and now the runner up who is the assistant superintendent .. and was the one assigned the role of HR reporting to her to avoid the conflict of interest concerns. Is this not the truth?? And now she happens to be promoted to superintendent now. This feels more like politics and backstabbing to me. Anyone else see it this way???