AURORA | The wife of Cherry Creek School District’s suddenly retired superintendent has been placed on administrative leave by school officials, according to an attorney for the district.
“As of Monday, February 2, 2026 Brenda Smith has been placed on Administrative Leave,” School district lawyer Sonja McKenzie said in a statement.”Given that this is a personnel matter, I cannot comment further at this time.”
Smith was the chief officer for the school district’s chief human resources officer. Her husband, now-former Superintendent Chris Smith, unexpectedly resigned last week, and school officials then said he will retire from the district by Feb. 1.
The news follows a television investigation into allegations made by district employees about a “toxic” work environment. School district officials said Chris Smith’s resignation and the television reports were unrelated.
Officials did not say whether Brenda Smith’s job pause was related to the TV news reports.
The resignation and job suspension come after a series of Denver7 TV news ran reports stating that “dozens” of insiders described a lack of avenues for employee complaints because Chris Smith and the district’s chief human resources officer, Brenda Smith, are married.
Neither Chris Smith nor board members addressed those allegations publicly.
School Board President Anne Egan in a statement thanked Chris 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. Perry had bid for the district’s top job, along with Chris Smith, in 2021, when Chris Smith was selected by a former school board.
One of the allegations made in the Channel 7 story focused on Brenda Smith. Sources for the Channel 7 story said their relationship posed a conflict of interest.
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.
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.