Our son Matt turns 18 this September, in time to vote for president of the United States.

Heady stuff, right?

Matt didn't even have to wait that long to cast his first vote. State rules wisely allow 17-year-olds who will be 18 before a November general election to participate eight months early at neighborhood caucuses in the spring and again in the primary election in the summer.

That gives them a say in which candidates will appear on their ballot in November.

Naturally, Matt was eager to tag along with us to our neighborhood's Republican caucus last month. But then something like first-time voter's remorse set in.

His mom joined in selecting delegates who will represent our area at the party's state and county conventions. For different reasons, Matt and I sat it out. I needed to remain an impartial observer. Matt felt overwhelmed by issues he'd never considered deeply, like school vouchers and immigration.

Thousands of Utahns will make a similar choice this November. People who rarely turn out to vote will show up en masse to vote in the presidential race but then opt out of voting in the state school board race.

Their reason will be Matt's: Who knows anything about the state school board?

But with school vouchers immediately behind us and Round 2 probably somewhere ahead of us in the future, the state school board election is more important than ever, no matter which side you're on.

Some observers are concerned that it is possible to stack the school board to lean one way.

Here's how: In 2002, the Legislature created a committee to whittle down the number of school board candidates. The committee interviews them and selects three per seat to recommend to the governor.

The governor then selects two to go on the ballot.

The committee will do some serious whittling this year, because 37 people filed for seven seats. In District 13, seven Provoans filed for a single seat.

So what if the committee stacks the list it gives the governor with one type of candidate? The Legislature tried to guard against that by balancing the committee with six people from business and industry and six from education.

But if one person crosses over to vote with the other group in a bloc, it's possible the governor could get a list of three people who are all pro-business and pro-voucher. Or vice versa. Voters would be presented with little choice.

In 2004, the first year the process was in place, the committee scratched an incumbent off the list it sent to the governor. Voters who had elected that public education supporter never got a chance to hold him accountable for his record, whether they thought it was good or bad.