State finds Cherry Creek Schools denied services to 11 deaf students as district leadership unravels

Eleven deaf or hard-of-hearing students in Cherry Creek Schools went without required sign-language interpreters for approximately three months at the start of the 2025-26 school year, according to a 19-page investigation report released by the Colorado Department of Education on Feb. 26. The CDE found the district violated the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by failing to provide services mandated in the students’ Individualized Education Programs.

The finding comes as Cherry Creek, Colorado’s fourth-largest school district with nearly 52,000 students, faces a leadership crisis that has seen its superintendent resign, two senior administrators placed on leave, and the school board launch an independent audit of district operations.

Three months without interpreters

The affected students ranged from kindergarteners to fifth-graders at an unidentified elementary school. The school required five sign-language interpreters, but on Aug. 6 the district learned that four interpreters provided through a staffing agency were no longer available after the contract ended in early August.

Parents were notified the day before school started that their children would not have access to interpreters, according to The Denver Post. Three district employees with sign-language skills attempted to fill the gap but were insufficient to meet the students’ needs.

State investigators found that two students were “substantially limited in their ability to participate in classwork.” A third-grader with autism began having behavioral concerns due to an inability to communicate. Another third-grader developed “significant attendance issues.”

“The IDEA (Act) does not excuse noncompliance with IEP implementation due to staff shortages,” state investigators wrote in the report.

The first contract interpreter did not start until Oct. 30. The school was not fully staffed with interpreters until Nov. 12. A parent of a 10-year-old student filed the complaint with CDE in October.

The CDE has ordered the district to submit a corrective action plan by March 17 and to provide all affected students with compensatory lessons at district expense, with at least 50 hours of student engagement time per child.

CDE investigators acknowledged that the three staff members who stepped in “performed work far beyond their job descriptions to support students during an exceptionally difficult school year.” Cherry Creek spokeswoman Ashley Verville said the district’s Department of Special Populations “made families aware of the issue and worked with families to identify alternative supports” as soon as it recognized services could not be provided. Verville called it a non-systemic issue.

Leadership crisis deepens

The interpreter failure occurred under the watch of the district’s Department of Special Populations, led by Assistant Superintendent Tony Poole. Poole was placed on administrative leave on Feb. 11 for allegations of insubordination, according to The Denver Post.

Poole’s departure followed the resignation of Superintendent Chris Smith, who announced his retirement effective Jan. 30 after Denver7 Investigates ran multiple stories about what current and former staff described as a “toxic culture” in district leadership. Smith said in a statement that the decision was “guided by what has always mattered most to me: students and the long-term strength of this district.”

Brenda Smith, the district’s chief human resources officer and the superintendent’s wife, was placed on administrative leave on Feb. 2 for allegations of misconduct including contractual and travel matters. District general counsel Sonja McKenzie wrote in a memo that the matters are “simply being investigated.” Records show Brenda Smith spent $38,492.48 on travel during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 fiscal years, nearly triple the $13,385 spent by Denver Public Schools’ chief HR officer over the same period, according to The Denver Post. Chris Smith spent $23,499.31 on travel in the same period.

Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Perry has been named interim superintendent, with her contract extended through June 30.

$165,000 payout and board response

Despite his abrupt departure, Chris Smith is contractually entitled to approximately $165,000 in accrued leave, including $119,857.87 in unused sick leave and $44,070 in vacation leave, according to Colorado Politics.

In response to the crisis, the school board has imposed stricter contract approval rules, frozen certain employee travel, and launched an independent audit of internal controls. The board is also reviewing its nepotism and conflicts-of-interest policies. Board President Anne Egan said the district is “strengthening oversight, reinforcing our financial safeguards, and ensuring thoughtful leadership in service to students.”

The district was already under multiple federal civil rights investigations opened in 2022 under Title IX and Title VI, tied to allegations of sex- and race-based discrimination, retaliation, and unequal treatment.

On The Kim Monson Show

Molly Lamar, a former teacher, discussed the CDE findings and leadership crisis on The Kim Monson Show on Feb. 27. Lamar highlighted the three-month gap in interpreter services as evidence of systemic failures in district leadership, arguing that vulnerable children paid the price for administrative dysfunction.

Lamar also alleged on the show that Smith had appeared intoxicated at school. That claim has not been independently corroborated by published reporting.

The superintendent search has been pushed to the end of summer, with a selection expected in the fall, according to Colorado Politics.