Cherry Creek cuts more teachers as state funding rises, parent watchdog says. State funding to Cherry Creek is set to climb $5.3 million next year even as the district eliminates 159 positions and trims $23 million from its budget. The cuts come as the district's $250,000 internal audit draws scrutiny over the chief financial officer who helps oversee it. Kim Monson Newsroom May 15, 2026 0:00 / 6:17 GREENWOOD VILLAGE - The Cherry Creek School District is expected to receive a $5.3 million increase in state funding next school year even as it cuts $23 million from its budget and eliminates 159 positions, according to 9News. Parent advocate Molly Lamar told listeners of The Kim Monson Show on Friday that the reductions include nearly 100 probationary teachers, and the cuts come as the district's $250,000 audit has drawn fresh scrutiny over who is overseeing it. "These are the newer faces in the classroom, the ones without tenure who work, you know, on the front lines every day, and now they're gone," Lamar said of the probationary teachers. A surplus from the state, cuts at the district. The $23 million reduction and the 159 eliminated positions for the 2026-27 school year have been reported since April and previously covered by The Kim Monson Show, including an analysis of the district's central-office contracts and an account of Lamar being barred from addressing the board. Interim Superintendent Jennifer Perry announced the cuts in a letter to parents, attributing the shortfall to "ongoing uncertainty in state and federal funding," according to Denver7. Lamar said the district's chief financial officer, Scott Smith, presented the proposed budget to the board. "We're getting increased funding from the state, yet the Board of Education is moving forward with cutting 159 staff members," Lamar said. When guest host Marshall Dawson asked how large the state increase was, Lamar said: "It's $5.3 million. We're getting a $5.3 million increase in state funding, yet we're cutting $23 million from the budget. The question is, where is that money really going?" What Lamar says is in the contracts. Lamar returned to a theme from her earlier appearances: that the district's top administrators carry contract perks its classroom employees do not. "We're reimbursing their PERA," Lamar said. "Taxpayers are reimbursing them for the contributions that they're making to their PERA. So they make an 11% contribution and then we reimburse them for that. And that's only our district leadership team. That is not what our teachers and staff members are getting." The PERA reimbursement and the broader contract structure were detailed in prior Kim Monson Show coverage. Lamar also said the publicized superintendent salary understates the true cost. "We're told here's the salary for the superintendent. It's $330,000. But then when you go and add up all of the perks that they're being given, this is far greater. It adds roughly $60,000 to the salary. But taxpayers aren't being told," she said. Prior reporting documents the superintendent base salary at $332,601 under former Superintendent Chris Smith. Lamar said the full picture surfaces only through public-records requests under the Colorado Open Records Act, which she referred to by its acronym, CORA. The $250,000 audit and who oversees it. The district has set aside $250,000 for an external audit of its organizational systems and structures, including its fiscal responsibilities, according to the Denver Post. Lamar questioned that spending while the district cuts staff. "The average teacher's salary is $76,000 in Cherry Creek. That's three teacher jobs," she said. The audit's oversight has become contested. Scott Smith, the chief financial officer whose department the review will examine, sits on the committee that will oversee the audit and select the firm that conducts it, according to the Denver Post. In a March email obtained through CORA, Smith accused former board member Terry Bates, who also served on that committee, of wanting the audit's findings to "place blame" on him. Bates denied it, telling the Denver Post "Absolutely not" and saying he had pushed for the independent audit "so we could put all the chips on the table and have full transparency." A district spokeswoman said the integrity of the audit process "remains intact." A district under scrutiny. The week's developments add to a months-long crisis at the fourth-largest school district in Colorado, which serves roughly 52,000 students. Former Superintendent Chris Smith, who is not related to Scott Smith, resigned in January after a Denver7 report on a "toxic" workplace culture; Assistant Superintendent Tony Poole is set to retire in June under a separation agreement that pays him more than $190,000, obtained under CORA, according to the Denver Gazette. The Kim Monson Show has reported that Bates resigned in April after the board cited "racialized remarks," and that Lamar was barred from addressing a May board meeting because education was not on the agenda. Lamar linked the district's spending choices to its academic results. On the 2025 CMAS tests, 44.8% of Colorado students in grades 3 through 8 met or exceeded expectations in literacy and 35.9% did so in math, according to Sentinel Colorado; Cherry Creek's literacy scores were essentially flat and still below pre-pandemic levels while its math scores recovered toward pre-pandemic marks. The district did not address Lamar's specific claims on the broadcast.

Cherry Creek School District cutting 159 jobs, reducing expenses by $23 million amid budget shortfall. The school district broke down preliminary changes that are expected as it works to reduce its budget. ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. - Cherry Creek School District announced Thursday it is cutting 159 jobs and reducing its expenses by $23 million for the 2026-2027 school year budget amid a shortfall. The school district said on its website that the majority of reductions are impacting Central Administration staff in non-student-facing roles and budgets. "Like many school districts across the state, we are facing a significant budget shortfall and are making difficult reductions across the district, with a focus on minimizing impacts to classrooms and student learning," the school district said. The budget changes are preliminary and subject to change, the school district said. The school district released a breakdown of the positions that are being cut: * Central Personnel (36 jobs totaling a $3.7 million reduction) * 21 District Operations positions (i.e. transportation, maintenance) * 12 District Support positions (i.e. fiscal services, IT, communications, HR) * Three Central Office Leadership positions * School Support (123 jobs totaling a $10.3 million reduction) * 51 Special Education positions - $4.2 million * 37 Gifted and Talented positions - $3.7 million * Four Language Supports and Services FTE - $800,000 * 18 Full-time equivalent (FTE) Elementary Administrative Health Liaisons - $850,000 * 13 FTE High School Administrative Support - $760,000 The school district also released a list of Central Non-Personnel Budget items, reducing it by $8.9 million. * $2 million in reduced district property and liability insurance claims and premiums * $850,000 for Education Accelerated contract * $850,000 for professional development (across districtwide budgets) * $840,000 for overtime and extra pay (across districtwide budgets) * $800,000 for Renaissance Education contract * $350,000 for FLGA contract * $332,000 for Learning by Design contract * $300,000 for renegotiated mobile leases * $200,000 for renegotiated wellness platform * $200,000 reduction in communication services * $135,000 for Hanover contracts * $2 million for miscellaneous (supplies, equipment, food, technology, materials, consultants etc.) The school district also said it is pulling back $5 million from administrative departments and $1 million in discretionary budgets at schools from the current 2025-2026 budget. "The District prides itself on running a lean central office, with the majority of our money going to schools," the school district said. It noted that nearly 90% of it's budget goes towards staff salaries and benefits towards staff, and 3.8% is spent on central office staff. The school district said that it is expected to receive $5.3 million increase in funding next year from the state, but that state funding "continues to fall well below increasing costs of delivering a high-quality K12 education."