{"id":210,"date":"2026-05-11T20:36:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T20:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=210"},"modified":"2026-05-11T20:36:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T20:36:57","slug":"cherry-creek-schools-official-accused-former-board-member-of-bullying-planning-to-interfere-in-audit-email-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=210","title":{"rendered":"Cherry Creek Schools official accused former board member of bullying, planning to interfere in audit, email says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Cherry Creek Schools\u2019 chief financial officer accused former Board of Education member Terry Bates of \u201cintimidation, bullying, and unethical behavior\u201d more than a month before Bates resigned unexpectedly, according to an email obtained by The Denver Post.<\/p>\n

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In doing so, the district official, Scott Smith, also alleged that Bates planned to interfere in an external audit that Cherry Creek Schools is expected to launch in the wake of the district\u2019s recent leadership turmoil. The March 6 email, obtained by The Denver Post via the Colorado Open Records Act, said Bates wanted to make sure the audit\u2019s findings \u201cplace blame\u201d on Smith for the K-12 system\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is highly concerning to me that any member of the Board of Education would hope for any result other than one of facts and truth,\u201d Smith wrote in his email to district general counsel Sonja McKenzie. \u201c\u2026 The fact that Terry Bates intends on dictating a biased, politically influenced, and accusatory audit contradicts the values of Cherry Creek School District and those of public finance professionals such as myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interim Superintendent Jennifer Perry told Smith that Bates made a comment about the district needing to ensure that the audit\u2019s findings placed blame on him, the financial officer alleged in his complaint.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Bates denied the allegations made by Smith, including those regarding possible interference with the audit. \u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just running for cover right now,\u201d Bates said of Smith. \u201cHe\u2019s probably afraid of what the findings are going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

District officials are scrutinizing whether a paid trip taken by former Superintendent Christopher Smith and his wife, Brenda Smith, the district\u2019s human resources director, influenced their decision to award about $3 million in contracts to a firm called Education Accelerated. (The Smiths are not related to Scott Smith.) <\/p>\n

Christopher Smith resigned in January and Cherry Creek placed Brenda Smith on paid leave. In the months since, the district has launched a series of reforms, including adding oversight of contracts and employee travel. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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The audit referenced in Scott Smith\u2019s March email will review Cherry Creek\u2019s organizational systems and structures, including fiscal responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Bates was a member of the committee \u2014 as is Smith \u2014 that will oversee the work of the audit, including the hiring of a firm to conduct the review. The district has set aside $250,000 toward the audit. <\/p>\n

When asked about Scott Smith\u2019s email regarding Bates, Abbe Smith, a district spokeswoman, said in a statement: \u201cMr. Bates has resigned from the Board of Education and no longer serves in any capacity for the district. The integrity of the audit process remains intact, and we look forward to receiving the audit committee\u2019s recommendations regarding the selection of a vendor.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Abbe Smith is not relate to Christopher and Brenda Smith.)<\/p>\n

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Bates said Monday that he pushed for the independent audit \u201cso we could put all the chips on the table and have full transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bates resigned on April 24, a move that came as his colleagues on the board accused him of making \u201cracialized remarks.\u201d The board did not provide details about the incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be clear that my comment was not intended to be hurtful or discriminatory,\u201d Bates wrote in an apology to the school board.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I recognize that intent does not outweigh impact, and raising that topic at all \u2014 particularly in that setting \u2014 was a lapse in judgment,\u201d he added. \u201cI have a deep respect for the Mexican community and culture, which makes it especially disappointing to me that my words did not reflect that respect in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cherry Creek Schools\u2019 chief financial officer, Scott Smith, accused then-board member Terry Bates of \u201cintimidation, bullying, and unethical behavior\u201d more than a month before the Bates resigned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCherry Creek Schools official accused former board member of bullying, planning to interfere in audit, email says - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=210\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cherry Creek Schools official accused former board member of bullying, planning to interfere in audit, email says - 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