(This story will be updated as results come in tonight)

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Campaign weeks will end on Tuesday for candidates for Detroit school board who are running for three seats in what could be a pivotal race for the district.

It’s one of the crucial education-related choices Chalkbeat covers in Michigan. The others are a citywide school millage, a countywide school millage, and the State Board of Education race.

There is a lot at stake in each of these choices. For Detroit’s school board, new faces on the board — depending on who is elected — could hurt the district’s turnaround efforts and Superintendent Nikolai Vitti’s vision.

The district, the state’s largest, has seen improvements in attendance and academic achievement, but its challenges are immense. Even with the gains, student performance on state exams is extremely low and well below state averages. Meanwhile, nearly 66 percent of the district’s students were chronically absent in the last school year, meaning they missed 18 or more days.

Vitti has had strong support from the board since he was hired in 2017. Earlier this year, The board extended Vitti’s contract until 2028which would make him one of the district’s longest-serving supervisors — a rare tenure for an urban district.

He Chalkbeat said in July that the ability to “sustain and accelerate the improvement the District has experienced over the past seven years is largely dependent” on the school board and upcoming school board elections.

The board will have two new faces as Sonya Mays and Misha Stallworth chose not to join Sherry Gay-Dagnogo in running for re-election.

Here’s a closer look at the other races and ballot initiatives Chalkbeat is following:

State Board of Education: Eight people are running for two council seatswhich makes policy recommendations to MPs and oversees the state inspector general.

Proposal S: The millage would allow Detroit Public Schools will charge all 18 mills on non-homestead property in the district. Revenue from the tax is currently used to pay down the district’s debt. The sooner the debt is paid off, the sooner the revenue could benefit DPSCD students.

Wayne County Improvement Millage: Voters are asked to renew for six years a millage that provided additional funding for public schools in the county.

Lori Higgins is the Chalkbeat Detroit Bureau Chief. You can reach her at [email protected].