You have some vital votes to cast in this year’s election.

I’m not talking about the races that are getting the daily headlines—for Governor, for U.S. Senate, for various federal and state legislative offices. Those are important races, of course.

But also important, especially for those who have children and/or care about education, are the votes you’ll cast for school board candidates. And to determine the fate of proposed Amendment 8 to the state constitution.

If you’re not already up to speed on the school board candidates and Amendment 8, you’ll be able to catch up this week, thanks to a valuable initiative by an organization called Protect Our Public Schools, Manasota. This organization is holding two screenings of Backpack Full of Cash, a Matt Damon-narrated documentary examining the charter-school-and-privatization industry and its impact on public education, followed by forums with school board candidates.

The first screening and forum will be Monday, August 20, and 5:00 p.m., at the Selby Public Library in Sarasota. The second will be Wednesday, August 22, at 5:00 p.m., at the Jacaranda Library in Venice.

I’ll be at the Sarasota screening and forum. I hope to see lots of you there too.