ENDORSEMENTS

Allen ISD voters have two excellent choices for Place 4. Both Becca Kinnear and Rosalind Lewis have a devoted history of service to the district’s children, families and staff at the campus level and in the Allen community. They both have a command of the issues facing their district and public education in Texas, and there is little policy difference between the two. Yet, like voters, we have to choose.

With that in mind, we tip toward Lewis and recommend that Allen ISD voters elect her for Place 4.

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In addition to Lewis’ proven commitment to Allen ISD, she brings two decades of professional experience that will benefit the district and the board, currently rich with veteran educators.

Lewis, 53, is a human resources director who has lived in the district since 2006. She has served as a homeroom mom and on various parent-teacher committees and has also volunteered for the Foundation of Allen Schools, served on districtwide committees and graduated from the Allen ISD Leadership Academy.

Like her opponent, Lewis grew up in a family of educators and attended her fair share of school board meetings long before she was a parent. Her HR background and experience with budgets, hiring practices and staff retention should serve the board and district staff well.

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Allen ISD, like most North Texas school districts, is facing yet another budget deficit after six years of stagnant funding of the basic allotment per student from the Texas Legislature. In addition, enrollment in the district has declined since 2020. Board members must be prepared for difficult conversations as they adopt budgets that cut services and programs, and Lewis appears poised for the job.

“It’s important to be open and transparent” for these conversations with staff and community members, Lewis told us.

Lewis says she’s open to creative ideas about teacher retention, another challenge districts face as resources for salary increases or incentives are limited. She wants to explore professional development and mentoring for first-year teachers and transfers to the district to keep educators when increasing salaries isn’t an option.

While Lewis is complimentary of the district and its current administration, she says she is aware through her volunteer work of some families that may struggle to understand the services that are available for their children. “Some parents don’t know, if they’re new, how our schools function and work, what questions to ask,” she told us. It’s an issue that she plans to address at a higher level if chosen for the board.

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Allen ISD is fortunate to have two well-qualified candidates in a race that we narrowly choose for Lewis.

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