Employees, insiders speak of toxic culture within Cherry Creek School District

The relationship between the superintendent and the director of human resources is impacting the culture at one of Colorado’s most prominent school districts, according to multiple insiders and employees.

Several current and former employees of the Cherry Creek School District told Denver7 Investigates that the district has a toxic culture stemming from Superintendent Chris Smith and his wife, Chief Human Resource Officer Brenda Smith.

Insiders, who have come forward over the past three months, say that the relationship leaves employees with nowhere to go if they have complaints.

Three sources spoke to Denver7 Investigates in silhouette with their voices disguised because they feared retaliation. Roughly a dozen others decided not to go on camera out of fear of retaliation against them and their families, but they independently reinforced the comments of those who went on camera.

Cherry Creek is one of the largest districts in the state, boasting 53,000 students and more than 9,000 employees with a history of success in the classroom and on the athletic fields. Many of the schools have some of the highest ratings in the state on websites such as GreatSchools.org.

“I think people don’t feel safe. You can’t question the superintendent because his wife is head of HR,” one of the sources said during their on-camera interview. “I think it’s a huge problem and I think it hurts our students.”

Through open records requests and from inside sources, Denver7 Investigates has obtained nearly a dozen complaint letters circulating inside of the school district, including several sent directly to the elected school board. Some were signed while others were anonymously written. Sources said the anonymous letters are evidence of the fear of retaliation in the district.

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One eight-page letter from two district principals — sent more than a year ago — accuses Chris Smith of unprofessional conduct, retaliation against employees and misallocation of budgetary items, including expenses and salaries.

“I saw a lot of fear tactics, intimidation tactics. A lot of ‘my way or no way,’” the second source said in their silhouette interview.

After that letter sparked an investigation, district employees raised concerns regarding a potential conflict of interest created by the superintendent and his wife.

“People need to know what the leadership in Cherry Creek looks like and how people who push back or give feedback or disagree are pushed out,” the first silhouette source said. “I think the superintendent is leveraging his relationship with his wife as head of HR to make staffing and personnel decisions that benefit him.”

That letter from the principals also stated that “The Human Resources Department operates with the intent that people are guilty prior to an investigation. They refer to the conference room in their office as ‘the cry room.’”

“They have a room that they meet with employees that’s called the crying room. It’s nicknamed the crying room,” the second silhouette source said, adding that in her opinion, it’s the district’s goal to make people cry when called into that room. Others independently shared that opinion.

The district hired a law firm to investigate the accusations in the letter. It concluded that Chris Smith did not clearly violate district policy and was less definitive on claims of retaliation and misappropriation.

But the report did state that “Smith has exhibited unprofessional behavior,” and recommended “executive leadership training/coaching.”

“I think the only thing that can fix it is getting past the dirty little secret and making sure it’s not a secret anymore,” the first source said.

Regarding the husband-wife power structure in the district, the investigation concluded, “Even if there is not an actual conflict of interest, there is certainly a perceived one across the district that stems from the Smiths’ relationship, their high-level district positions and reporting structure.”

But it fell short of calling for a change. Instead, it states that “there is no direct evidence their relationship has impacted their actions or inactions.”

Expert weighs in 

Michael Nalick, a management professor at the University of Denver and an expert on corporate structure, said he believes this relationship to be “a big problem.”

“The point is there is perceived impropriety just because of their positions,” Nalick said. “Whether or not they’re valid, it’s that perceived impropriety. Even if it doesn’t occur, it still negatively affects the organization.”

Nalick reviewed documents obtained by Denver7 Investigates and some testimonials from current and former employees.

One of those documents was a letter from the school board approving superintendent Smith’s hiring while his wife remained as head of HR.

That school board changed over in November after the most recent election.

Nalick said the board is complicit in the culture as they created a policy permitting this dynamic, and he suggested that change needs to happen.

“I would naturally say one of them has to go. You can’t continue to have both of them employed with that relationship,” Nalick said.

A third source who spoke to Denver7 Investigates in silhouette also laid blame on the school board for allowing this dynamic.

“The school board is very much aware of this controversy. For whatever reason it has made the decision to not take any action,” they said, referring to the district’s leadership dynamic.

Superintendent avoids questions

Denver7 Investigates made multiple attempts via email and text message to speak with Chris Smith to get his side of the controversy. Through the district’s media relations office, he denied all requests. He also did not acknowledge questions from Denver7 Investigates at a December school board meeting where multiple security guards were present, blocking Denver7 Investigates’ access to Smith and the school board.

At the end of the meeting, Chief Investigative Reporter Tony Kovaleski asked superintendent Smith if he would promise to answer his questions. Smith did not acknowledge the question and walked out a back door of the meeting room.

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The lack of comment did not come as a surprise to the first silhouette source who spoke to Denver7 Investigates.

“I don’t know that he has the courage to answer your questions honestly,” they said of Smith.

Denver7 Investigates also waited outside a scheduled meeting with district principals and managers last month. Chris Smith declined to come out and answer questions. An inside source provided a recording of part of that meeting that included Chris Smith saying that a news story would be coming out about him and that it was “probably not going to be the best story” about him.

The district did provide a three-paragraph response to interview requests, stating:

In a follow-up exchange via email, a district spokesperson also noted, “There is no statute requiring public officials to agree to on-camera interviews with journalists.”

One of the sources said the fact that so many were speaking anonymously spoke of the concerns and issues in the district as well as the leadership in the organization.

“You have always told us if we had questions,if we had concerns, if we needed to talk, your door is open,” the source said of Chris Smith. “We have had to take to sending anonymous communications, doing secret interviews. What is it about your leadership that has gotten us to this point?”

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