Sign-up season has started for the 2018 elections and candidates are already gearing up for party primaries in March - but don't get ahead of yourself. Texas still isn't done with our 2017 elections.

Early voting begins today in the runoffs for Houston Community College trustee District IX and Houston Independent School District trustees for District I and District III.

These elections can get lost in the growing political anticipation of heated congressional contests and statewide races. Take a look at your recent property tax bill for a reason to pay attention. HISD makes up the largest bulk of local property taxes, and HCC consumes a chunk as well. The best way to ensure that your funds are spent responsibly is to vote for candidates who properly understand the duty of sitting on a school board.

The position isn't the same as being a chief executive, nor is it exactly like serving as a legislator. Quality candidates act like a bridge between the community and the local school system, and can effectively represent local values and priorities. However, a good board member also knows how to achieve these aims without meddling in day-to-day aspects of school management. The real challenge comes in finding a way to effectively govern from afar all while cooperating with other board members and their own disparate constituencies.

The Houston Chronicle editorial board makes the following endorsements for the HCC and HISD runoffs. Early voting runs from today until Saturday and next week on Monday and Tuesday. Election Day is Saturday, Dec. 9. More election information can be found at HarrisVotes.com or by calling 713-755-6965.

Houston Community College System, trustee, District IX:Pretta VanDible Stallworth

Experience as a teacher in higher education combined with previous tenure on the HCC board sets apart Pretta VanDible Stallworth. An impressive résumé and firm grasp of the HCC board duties should earn her the seat being vacated by Chris Oliver, who pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges in May.

VanDible Stallworth, 59, has worked as an adjunct professor at Bellhaven College and guest professor at DeVry University. She also served on the HCC board from 1989-1993. Her position as chaplain for Senate 13 District PAC also demonstrates a healthy ability to reflect the values of her community. While we've expressed a cautiousness about VanDible Stallworth's belief that the board should be more involved with reviewing contracts, her education and experience makes her the best candidate in this race.

Also running is Eugene "Gene" Pack, a veteran, who told the editorial board that he wanted to expand access at HCC, especially for those who have served in the military.

District IX covers a stretch of southwest Harris County, roughly following Beltway 8 from Missouri City to the Sunnyside neighborhood.

Houston ISD, trustee, District I: Gretchen Himsl

Houston Independent School District, the seventh-largest public school system in the nation and the largest in Texas, is at a crossroads. The school district is facing a takeover by the state for failure to improve about a dozen schools. This drastic step would mean that Houston voters would lose the right to elect officials to govern the school system, which educates 216,000 of our children, and for which we pay local property taxes. The district also faced a budgetary shortfall even before Hurricane Harvey cut a path of destruction across the district and damaged many of its schools.

These are hard issues, and voters need to elect the candidate best qualified to deal with the complexity.

Two candidates are in a runoff for trustee of District I, a position that was ably held by Anna Eastman for eight years: Elizabeth Santos, a schoolteacher, and Gretchen Himsl, who works at Children At Risk, a Houston nonprofit.

Both have demonstrated a commitment to students through their actions for many years, Santos in the classroom and Himsl in the policymaking and volunteer world. Both women care deeply about public education.

The two candidates also agree on several policy points, including the need to rein in high-stakes testing.

But the similarities stop there. The two candidates bring markedly different skill sets to the table. Himsl is a policy wonk and volunteer. Santos is a passionate educator and advocate.

At a time when the future of the entire district has been brought into question, voters should pick someone with the skills to analyze and articulate the policies that can save HISD - and the ability to implement them as solutions. That candidate is Gretchen Himsl.

This is the sort of race that makes us wish the HISD board was a mix of at-large and district board members. Himsl offers a top-down policy expertise that HISD needs now, but Santos possess an informed, on-the-ground perspective of a woman who speaks to the soul of our schools. Her insight as a teacher gives her the ability to cut straight to the problems of how board policies impact and often disrupt the classroom. As she told the editorial board, you don't need a standardized test to tell you that a classroom with 40 students is going to do worse than classroom with 20 students. Santos embodies the next generation of Houston leadership and would be a fine representative for District I.

However, as HISD wrangles with the Texas Education Agency, we have to think about a picture bigger than a single district. The entire system needs someone who understands policy and process from top to bottom. That's where Himsl shines.

She spent years working as a staff member on the House Appropriations Committee in Austin and analyzes education policy in her job at Children At Risk. She's supplemented this knowledge by enrolling as a fellow in the first class of Leadership ISD, a nonprofit, devoted to developing and connecting leaders, lead strategically and champion change in the public school system. Himsl, 46, also holds a master's degree from the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Policy.

But there's more than résumé to Himsl. She has the practical, on-the-ground experience of a former PTA president and can rattle off issues facing individual schools. She speaks in specific and actionable options for ameliorating cumbersome yet mandatory standardized tests. In the heat of the debate, she offers a calm pillar of knowledge.

"I've been doing public policy for 20 years now and so I have experience with going deep in knotty problems, and that's what HISD is facing right now, which is complicated, long-term problems." Himsl told the editorial board, and that's probably the best summary of why voters should select her.

District I covers inner Loop and north Houston neighborhoods including Garden Oaks, the Heights and Near Northside.

Houston ISD, trustee, District III - Unexpired Term: Sergio Lira

We endorsed Sergio Lira during the general election and again encourage voters to pick him to fill the seat previously held by longtime trustee Manuel Rodriguez Jr., who passed away in July.

Lira, 56, has spent nearly his entire career as an educator in this southeast district, although he currently serves as an assistant principal at Bellaire High School. He has direct experience turning around underperforming campuses and was awarded "Teacher of the Year" when he taught in elementary schools. In addition to his classroom and administrative experience, Lira also has an impressive list of credentials: a master's in education management, a certificate from the Superintendent Certification program and a doctorate of education in educational leadership from the University of Houston-Clear Lake College of Education.

But beyond his résumé, Lira recognizes that HISD needs to do more on behalf of marginalized students who can easily be left behind.

In this race, Lira is running against Jesse A. Rodriguez, a local volunteer and small business owner. Rodriguez has a lot of passion but cannot match Lira's knowledge of and experience in HISD schools.