Colorado is experiencing a 7.0 San Andreas earthquake with a 1906-style San Francisco fire burning through the education world. Everywhere, education leaders are retiring, quitting, or facing recalls, as education policy pushes and pulls in opposite directions.

State Education Commissioner Robert Hammond retired July 1. Other key executives and mid-level staffers quit. The Colorado Department of Education now has three interim players on its five-member executive committee, including interim commissioner Elliott Asp.

State Board of Education President Marcia Neal abruptly resigned, leaving a gaping hole that nine applicants hope to fill from the 3rd Congressional District. Neal complained that the board is dysfunctional, mostly because Steve Durham from Colorado Springs asks contentious questions. Her replacement will be a swing member.

Durham is a likely choice for board president. He, along with rookie board member Val Flores, will be key players selecting a new commissioner and will likely hire someone who isn’t all-in on the “put teachers’ feet to the fire” agenda of Democrats for Education Reform.

That Republicans have moved off their previous support of DFER policies – which were a Democratic attempt to usurp Republican positions – has tied public education in knots. GOPers are now at odds with some Denver business leaders and most of the education foundations in the state, including the Colorado Education Initiative.

CEI gets most of its money from DFER-supporting enterprises such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates money has poured into CEI over the years, topped off by a recent $350,000 infusion. CEI has used millions to support DFER assessment and accountability policies that the Board of Ed now finds objectionable.

If the Department of Education no longer pursues the Gates Foundation/DFER policies, who knows what will happen to CEI’s funding, programs and staff. Other education reformers – the Donnell Kay and Rose Community foundations and Colorado Succeeds – could lose influence.

Nothing can rival the earthquake and conflagration going on in Jefferson County. Three conservative school board members will likely face recalls: Ken Witt, John Newkirk, and Julie Williams. Lesley Dahlkemper, a senior executive at the pro-DFER CEI, and Jill Fellman, a retired teacher, aren’t seeking reelection.

It’s safe to say that Neal’s complaint about “dysfunction” on the State Board of Ed is exponentially applicable in Jeffco. The recall momentum started as soon as the conservatives were elected in 2013, a huge surprise that hit Jeffco like an earthquake. The district has been in an uproar since, with all sides picking fights at every opportunity.

The recall and open-seat elections will highlight fiery disputes that come down to this: will Jeffco turn into the Douglas County School District? But not even Dougco can be Dougco, because the Colorado State Supreme Court threw out its voucher plan last week.

Where do kids stand in this big mess? Any child who entered Colorado public schools since 2010, whether district or charter, has been the unhappy beneficiary of a massive underfunding, reduced now to the $1 billion negative factor. Seven years from now, let’s check on how all the fights about accountability, assessment, charters, vouchers, etc., have helped these kids get college- and career-ready.

Paula Noonan owns Colorado Capitol Watch, the state’s premier legislature tracking platform.