The president of Cherry Creek Schools’ Board of Education reiterated Friday that the district is freezing employee travel and district contracts following last week’s resignation of Superintendent Christopher Smith, but still has not acknowledged why the school board is undertaking what she characterized as “a serious review.”
School board directors will vote on a resolution Monday to confirm Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Perry as the district’s interim superintendent, Board of Education President Anne Egan said.
“This is the start of a process for the health and success of this district,” she said, reading from a prepared statement. “With the board’s action last week, we have taken action to freeze certain travel, freeze contracts and begin a serious review of district policies and procedures across the board.”
Her comments came ahead of a meeting of the school board Friday morning.
Egan has previously said directors will discuss the upcoming search for a new superintendent and the district’s contract, travel and conflict of interest policies during the meeting, but it is unclear how much of the board’s conversation will take place in public.
The agenda for Friday’s meeting showed directors were expected to discuss Cherry Creek Schools’ organizational leadership chart during the public portion of the meeting.
But the school board is also expected to go into an executive session — which is not open to the public — to receive legal advice regarding Cherry Creek Schools’ search for a new superintendent and the district’s budget, including as it relates to travel expenses and contract requirements, according to the meeting agenda.
“Combined with Dr Perry’s leadership, I am confident that we are headed in the right direction,” Egan said. “Because the mission of every person in this room is to do all we can to promote the education of the students in our district and provide accountability to our taxpayers.”
Smith unexpectedly resigned last week and Cherry Creek Schools placed his wife, Brenda Smith, the district’s chief human resources officer, on administrative leave earlier this week without explanation.
District officials have repeatedly declined to say why the school board is reviewing the district’s contract and travel policies following Smith’s departure.
Travel expenditures obtained by The Denver Post via a public records request showed that Christopher Smith and Brenda Smith spent $23,499.31 and $38,492.48, respectively, on travel — including airfare, food, hotels and parking — during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 fiscal years.
Brenda Smith’s spending stands out when compared to that of the chief human resources officer at Denver Public Schools, who spent $13,385 during the same period. DPS is the state’s largest school district.
The travel expenses are a small part of Cherry Creek Schools’ $840 million budget. Like other districts across Colorado, Cherry Creek Schools, which has 51,844 students, is facing declining enrollment and expects to run a $15.4 million deficit this year.
District officials have previously said they are looking for ways to cut spending, such as by limiting overtime.
Christopher Smith’s contract wasn’t expected to expire until June 2027. He earned a base salary of $332,601.15. Brenda Smith’s base salary is $232,142.40.
Egan said earlier this week that both the district and Christopher Smith have “obtained legal counsel.”
The Smiths were married before either began working at Cherry Creek Schools, with district officials hiring Brenda Smith two years before her husband was named superintendent.
Brenda Smith began reporting to Perry, the deputy superintendent, to comply with the district’s staff conduct policy after Christopher Smith became superintendent. That policy states employees may not engage in a direct or indirect supervisory relationship with an immediate family member.
A report by Denver7 last month said Cherry Creek employees alleged the Smiths’ marriage affected the work culture at the district.
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