Author: Nicole C. Brambila nico.brambila@denvergazette.com
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Denver school board to consider property swap
The Denver Public Schools board will consider replacing an administrative building with Pascual LeDoux Academy in the district’s 2020 lease-purchase structure, a financing arrangement tied to the sale and leaseback of several school buildings now under legal challenge. The deed swap is part of a financial maneuver to sell the administrative property on Yuma Street…
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Cherry Creek orders outside audit, tightens contract oversight amid leadership shakeup
Amid heightened public scrutiny following recent leadership upheaval, the Cherry Creek School District will launch an independent audit of its internal controls and impose stricter contract approval rules, lowering the dollar threshold for board oversight and requiring additional executive and legal sign-offs on spending. Friday was the fifth time the board has met over the…
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Cherry Creek School District Assistant Superintendent Tony Poole placed on administrative leave
Cherry Creek School District Assistant Superintendent Tony Poole has been placed on administrative leave, district officials confirmed Wednesday. Lauren Snell, a district spokesperson, declined to say whether Poole’s administrative leave was paid or not. Poole started with the school district in 1989 as a teacher and worked his way up the ranks to assistant superintendent…
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Denver Gazette reporter injured in scooter crash examines Denver’s e-scooter safety
My last scooter ride was my last. It ended the way far too many electric scooter rides in Denver do — in the hospital. On New Year’s Eve — while much of the city was toasting with champagne or watching the fireworks downtown — I was recovering from surgery. After one split-second misjudgment, I managed…
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Cherry Creek assistant superintendent to leave full-time post amid district leadership upheaval
Cherry Creek School District Assistant Superintendent Tony Poole will not return to full-time work at the end of the school year and will instead transition to a limited post-employment arrangement. Ashley Verville, a district spokesperson, said the move was not a signal that Poole is retiring while acknowledging “110s are often a transition into retirement.”…
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Wife of former Cherry Creek superintendent placed on paid administrative leave
Less than a week after Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Chris Smith abruptly resigned following allegations of a toxic work environment, his wife, Brenda Smith, has been placed on paid, administrative leave, officials confirmed Tuesday. Brenda Smith is the district’s chief human resource officer, a position she has held since 2019. “As of Monday, February 2,…
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Avian flu spreads to backyard flocks in Larimer and Logan counties
The new cases follow last week’s disaster declaration tied to a commercial outbreak in Weld County. The Colorado Department of Agriculture confirmed three additional cases of the highly pathogenic avian flu in backyard flocks in Larimer and Logan counties, in addition to the one in Weld County that prompted the governor’s office to declare a…
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Conflict-of-interest safeguards at Cherry Creek Schools lacked clear oversight, memo shows
To avoid a conflict of interest, the wife of Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Chris Smith — who resigned this week amid allegations of a toxic work environment — was supposed to report to Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Perry. In the wake of Smith’s resignation Wednesday, Perry was named interim superintendent. According to a Denver7 investigation, insiders…
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Cherry Creek Schools superintendent resigns after allegations of toxic workplace
Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Chris Smith resigned abruptly during an executive session Tuesday, school officials confirmed, after allegations of a toxic work environment surfaced earlier this month. “We’ve had some tremendous achievements under Chris’ leadership including Traverse, the first of its kind mental health facility for students; passing school construction bonds that will allow the…
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Will Denver see stepped-up immigration enforcement next? | ANALYSIS
Two years ago — as Denver grappled with a sharp influx of immigrants, many who arrived in the city after illegally crossing America’s borders — Mayor Mike Johnston joined the mayors of Chicago and New York City in criticizing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s busing campaign and called for a national strategy to address the crisis.…