Before voting for your local Toronto District School Board trustee, you might want to consider what’s been happening since the last time you put an X beside their name in 2010 — and then think again.

The TDSB has been rife with overspending and misbehaviour. There was the outrageous 2012 procurement fiasco (a highlight of which was paying $2,442 to mount a whiteboard on a wall); an audit that found $1.3 million in unauthorized raises for senior staff and another that found some trustees were expensing everything from nuts to hand lotion.

Police have even been brought in to TDSB meetings because some trustees said they felt threatened by their colleagues. Most recently, trustees were under fire from their own freedom of information officer for allegedly tampering with expense documents — before they were released to the Star.

That — and so much more — is why it’s important for voters to pay attention to who is elected on Oct. 27 to oversee the board’s enormous $3-billion budget and the education of 232,000 students across the city.

It’s time for change at Canada’s largest school board. Here are seven candidates – a mix of newcomers and incumbents – who we think particularly deserve support:

Marit Stiles (Ward 9, Davenport) is director of public policy and communications for ACTRA, Canada’s actors’ union, and an NDP supporter. She was one of the first candidates to sign an important campaign pledge — considering what’s gone on at the board in the last four years — to respect other board members and taxpayers’ money.

Cathy Dandy (Ward 15, Toronto-Danforth). Dandy’s challenger, Jennifer Story, would be a worthy board member (she was also one of the original signers of the campaign pledge of respect). But there’s no reason to pitch Dandy. She is a reasonable, non-aligned voice at the board who has supported such smart policies as mental health supports for students and the late-start high school. She deserves to be re-elected.

Robert Cerjanec (Ward 17, Don Valley East)is the best alternative to the lackluster incumbent in this ward, Harout Manougian.Cerjanec is known for his vocal stands on issues from using schools as community hubs to accountability and integrity at the board — and is another supporter of the pledge of respect.

Parthi Kandavel (Ward 18, Scarborough Southwest) has a master’s degree in education and a well-thought out platform that includes restoring integrity to the board, being more responsive to parents, providing more physical activity for children and dealing directly with bullying. He would be a welcome replacement for incumbent Elizabeth Moyer, who was officially censured over harassment of senior TDSB staff members for inappropriate comments and touching.

Scott Harrison (Ward 19, Scarborough East) lost his seat the last time to incumbent David Smith. But the straight-shooting, right-of-centre firefighter brought common sense to the board when he was a trustee, while Smith has been often absent from board meetings and too low-profile to earn a second chance.

Manna Wong (Ward 20, Scarborough Agincourt) is an assistant to NDP MPP Peter Tabuns. The trilingual (English, Cantonese and Mandarin) Wong has worked as a tutor for children with learning disabilities, an ESL instructor, and a community volunteer. She seems more than qualified to replace incumbent Sam Sotiropoulos, whose toxic treatment of fellow trustees through tweets and emails, provocative stand on nudity in the Gay Pride parade and recent comments about transgendered students have cost him support.

Jerry Chadwick (Ward 22, Scarborough East) has been a civil, calm and thoughtful presence on a divided board. The retired principal is well-informed on education issues and was chair of the budget committee the first time the TDSB balanced its books without making any cuts.