Voters, you've got some homework to do.

We'll help.

Between now and May 21, The Press will give opinion page priority to publishing endorsement letters from readers stating why they think you should vote for specific candidates.

School board elections might lack the appeal of what our nation experienced last November, but we submit that the choices you make for your local district will have a greater impact on your children or grandchildren than anything Washington, D.C., will whip up. Nowhere is local control more important, or felt more directly, than it is at the public school level.

So with that in mind, please, take time to write a letter to the editor supporting one or more candidates in your district. There is a 300-word limit on every letter, and we will not accept more than one letter per writer. We'll publish as many as we can between now and the election. The sooner you submit your letter, the greater the chance that it will be printed.

The Press also will soon publish profiles on every candidate in a contested school board race. Here's a peek at those races:

Coeur d'Alene School District

- Christa Hazel vs. Brent Regan, incumbent, for Trustee Zone 1.

- Dave Eubanks vs. Ann Seddon, incumbent, Zone 4.

- Tom Hearn vs. Bjorn Handeen, both newcomers, Zone 5. Incumbent Jim Hightower is not running.

Lakeland School District

- Neil Joseph Uhrig vs. Brian Wallace, incumbent, Zone 4.

Post Falls School District

- Dave Paul vs. Glorie Ward, both newcomers, Zone 1.

- Carol Goodman vs. Julie Hunt, incumbent, Zone 5.

St. Maries School District

- Nancy Jean McAninch vs. Christine Ann Ashmead, incumbent, in Zone 1.

- Jody Ray Hendrickx vs. Sandy Sargent Kennelly, incumbent, in Zone 2.

Kootenai Hospital District

- Four candidates seek election to two open seats: Incumbent Liese Razzeto, Jim Pierce, Donna Montgomery and Neil Nemec, M.D.

Alpine Meadows Water and Sewer District in Hayden

- Kim Van Erk vs. Toni Sumerlin, incumbent.

So what are you waiting for? Start writing and submit your letter to mpatrick@cdapress.com.