The district has done an excellent job so far, staying ahead of the growth curve by opening new schools almost every year and keeping their state test scores high. Two more schools are set to open in 2008 and a third middle school in 2009.

Two challengers are facing two incumbents in the battle for two seats, but there is little reason voters should change direction. Both Rita Peters and Bob O'Donnell have served the community well and deserve re-election.

Peters is an unabashed champion of the kids -- especially those in her Quail Valley community, who tend to be poorer and most likely to be left behind. Her passion for education, and her advocacy for the kids who need the most attention, are clear to anyone who knows her.

O'Donnell, the longtime board member and former Sun City postmaster, lost his seat two years ago, when he was unfairly portrayed as being "soft" on unification -- the effort to bring high schools under the control of the Menifee district -- but was reappointed to a vacant post earlier this year.

At this point, unification is more a question of when and how, not if. Peters, with her intense focus on improving education, and O'Donnell, with his strong grasp of the financial issues at stake with both unification and growth, are the best choices for Menifee schools on Nov. 7.