Last week Minneapolis public-school parents sent their children back to the classroom, hopeful that the district will do its best to help educate their kids. And Tuesday, those parents and other voters can influence those educational outcomes by voting in the Minneapolis school board primary.

In a presidential year, it's easy to let local elections slide into the background -- especially a primary that comes on the heels of two weeks of national conventions, and when every third ad on television is about a state or national election. "Why not wait until there are fewer candidates, then vote in November?" some might ask.

Because it matters which candidates go on to stand for election. Participate in the process and help decide who makes it into the final field. Minneapolis needs courageous, decisive and creative thinkers to guide the 34,570-student district through difficult academic and financial times.

When three board members take their seats next January, they'll lead a system that has lost thousands of students in recent years as only 12 of more than 80 schools made the testing benchmarks under the federal No Child Left Behind program. Though some modest progress has occurred on test scores, the district remains under pressure to improve basic skills. And board members will be working with a district that has cut more than $150 million over the past seven years. More budget reductions may be made if a proposed excess levy referendum fails this fall.

At the same time, the current board and administration have promising plans underway. A new initiative for North Side schools has helped increase kindergarten enrollment requests by 50 percent. And the high school graduation rate, now at 67 percent, has increased each year since 2004.

Steering Minneapolis schools through such times demands leaders who can articulate the special concerns of urban schools to politicians and the public, and demonstrate that they use existing funds wisely.

The six candidates who emerge from the primary will compete for three board posts in the Nov. 4 general election. Two of the nine candidates in the primary are incumbents, and seven are newcomers. The field includes five Democrats (three are endorsed by the city DFL), one Green Party candidate running as an independent and three with no political party affiliation. Among the candidates are current and retired Minneapolis teachers, an attorney, an artist, an information-technology worker, a practical nurse, social-service supervisor, a policy-research director and one homemaker.

Voters should make the effort to learn about the candidates. Even a quick look at candidate websites can help inform citizen choices. Take the responsibility seriously, and vote in the primary to improve learning for Minneapolis kids.