Superintendent Christopher Smith announced his sudden retirement on Jan. 28, ending his nearly five-year tenure at the helm of one of Colorado’s largest school districts.
That is, until, an investigative article and TV report published by Denver7 on Jan. 13 put the degree of their professionalism into question. According to the investigation, Chris and Brenda Smith were allegedly responsible for using their respective seats of power to foster an atmosphere of intimidation across the district administrative apparatus.
Appointed in 2019, Brenda Smith’s position remained unquestioned even following her husband’s unanimous appointment to the top job by the school board in April of 2021. An anonymous source, speaking to Denver7, said “the superintendent is leveraging his relationship with his wife as head of HR to make staffing and personnel decisions that benefit him.”
Other sources, many of whom chose to remain anonymous due to fear of reprisal, reported (among other things) that an HR conference room became dubbed ‘the crying room,’ indicating a hostile environment surrounding district HR.
On Feb. 2, the school board announced Brenda Smith’s paid leave following her husband’s retirement, but CCSD declined to relate her absence to the recent negative press; rather citing personal matters.
However, doubt remains about the extent to which the Smiths’ alleged misconduct has affected the district. CCSD’s official messages still dispute the claims of the Denver7 story.
“Internal staff surveys show a strong and positive climate,” district Communications Director Lauren Snell said. “In addition, CCSD has been recognized eight times by Forbes as a top workplace in Colorado and was most recently named a top workplace for women and for organizational culture.”
Nonetheless, CCSD insists on its willingness to accept criticism.
“The district takes all employee concerns seriously and there are procedures for staff to report concerns, harassment and grievances,” Snell said. “The Board of Education announced they are aware of the issues raised and they will discuss further at the next study session on Feb. 6.”
Chris Smith had not just been battling unpopularity from a faculty angle, as many students felt that his dodging of student meetings (as well as other issues) exacerbated the student’s feelings of disconnect between the district and themselves.
Just after the publishing of Denver7’s article, Chris Smith cancelled a previously scheduled meeting with Creek’s Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) chapter.
“Smith was in an accident several days before the event and was recovering from broken ribs,” Snell said. “As a result, he was also unable to attend the Jan. 12 Board meeting.”
Senior Abby Shimelis, chapter founder and head of Creek YDSA, was immediately skeptical of the superintendent’s rationale for his absence.
‘I was very, very suspicious. All I was told was he had an issue with his ribs, but the same night, around 6 p.m., the article dropped,” Shimelis said. “It became even more suspicious when we learned that his rib injury occurred over winter break. If the injury had happened over break, why hadn’t he reached out?”
Meanwhile, his cancelling of the YDSA meeting, to Shimelis, was the perfect metaphor for the students’ perceived disconnect with administration.
“The whole point is teaching students and making sure they have a good experience until they’ve graduated,” Shimelis said. “If district officials are unable to communicate or aren’t open to feedback, the district will only struggle.”
Students, too, found issues with Chris Smith’s leadership. Sam Brown, a junior who has scrutinized the superintendent throughout his tenure, saw immediate issues with Chris Smith’s appointment to superintendent.
“He ran for the position of superintendent knowing that his wife was the head of HR,” Brown said. “The board selected him and at the time they didn’t see a conflict of interest.”
Among other things, students were also concerned about a lack of snow days, which many attributed to the superintendent. In reality, the absence of snow days has less to do with the personal whims of district officials and more to do with the record-breaking drought taking place this winter.
“I fear people are focused on the wrong thing,” Shimelis said. “Just because [Smith] is gone doesn’t mean the snow day policy has changed. That’s not how that works.”
Principal Ryan Silva told the Principal’s Advisory Committee on Feb. 13 that Creek shouldn’t be too affected by the CCSD administration shakeup, because the school is fairly self-contained in its daily operation.
The school district has selected Dr. Jennifer Perry to be interim superintendent following Chris Smith’s resignation. She had previously served as deputy superintendent under Chris Smith from July of 2021. Procedures to select a new superintendent are ongoing by the school board.
Silva said in an email to Creek teachers that he’s confident that Perry will serve her role diligently. He says she’ll be accessible, a sharp turn from major complaints against Chris Smith.
“Her understanding of CCHS is solid,” Silva wrote in the email. “She asks questions when she wants to learn more about our students, staff, and community. She has always been accessible and approachable.”
