🔔 Hi, I'm Suzie Glassman. I cover K-12 education across Jefferson, Adams and Weld counties for the Colorado Trust for Local News, and I write Class Notes, our weekly education newsletter. I'm dropping into your inbox today because this is breaking news that affects one of the largest school districts on the Front Range, and a lot of you have kids, neighbors, or coworkers in Jeffco.

Jeffco Public Schools Superintendent Tracy Dorland announced Friday that she will resign effective July 5 to take a new job. She did not name her next position.

Dorland sent the news first to staff, then to the broader Jeffco community, alongside a joint statement from Board of Education President Michelle Applegate and Vice President Erin Kenworthy.

Dorland has led Jeffco since April 2021. In her message, she said the role has been "the greatest honor of my career," and cited academic gains, the rollout of new literacy and math curriculum, expanded career and technical education, and roughly $20 million in annual savings from school consolidations during her tenure.

The board said it will immediately begin identifying an interim superintendent and launch a national search for a permanent replacement. Dorland will continue to serve in all capacities through July 5.

"We have a history of a tumultuous relationship with Superintendent Dorland," JCEA President Brooke Williams and President-elect Ang Anderson said in a joint statement to Class Notes. They cited a "lack of authentic and meaningful voice in the budget reduction process" and concerns about how future district funding would be spent.

The union called for new leadership that "must be able to act quickly" to address fiscal transparency and rebuild community trust.

Jeffco is Colorado's second-largest school district. Decisions made there, on funding, school closures, safety, and curriculum, ripple across neighboring districts and the state.

Dorland's departure also lands as the district is working to put a mill levy override on the November ballot to close a structural deficit her own administration has put at $30 to $45 million. In March, JESPA President Zander Kashub told the board that Dorland had privately predicted the MLO would fail. The district acknowledged the comment but said it was historical context about the difficulty of passing school funding measures in Jeffco.

JCEA delivered a public vote of no confidence in Dorland in May 2025, citing top-down decision-making, school closures, and the handling of the Chief of Schools’ misconduct case.

I'll be reporting on the search process, who's in the running for interim superintendent, and what this transition means for Jeffco families and staff. That coverage lives in Class Notes, my free weekly education newsletter.

Thanks for reading. Back to your regularly scheduled Golden Tintype soon.