Allen ISD trustees voted Monday, Sept. 28, to adopt four priorities the district will carry to Austin for the 2027 Texas legislative session.

The priorities target teacher recruitment and retention, adequate public school funding, local decision-making and equal accountability for publicly funded private schools, Community Impact Newspaper first reported. The session is scheduled to open in January.

The sharpest number came from board member Veronica Yost. The district receives $1.1 million from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for school safety requirements but spends $5.4 million to meet those same mandates, she said.

"If you're going to hold us accountable and tell us we have to do these, then they need to be able to fund those mandates because we have to comply … and without the proper funding that hurts us as a district," Yost said.

Kyle Penn, the district's assistant superintendent of business and technology, said staff will now develop informational materials to share with elected officials ahead of the session. Board President Polly Montgomery said the district has multiple opportunities to meet with legislators before January.

Board Vice President Bill Parker addressed teacher hiring, saying the days when the district received 50 to 70 applications per open position are over. That era is gone, he said. The teacher recruitment priority also calls for strengthening the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) and supporting attainable housing options for educators.

On accountability, Parker said private schools receiving state voucher dollars through the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program should face the same rules as public schools.

Board member Becca Kinnear framed the local-control priority as defensive. She described it as less about pushing new policy and more about preserving the independence districts already have.

The Sept. 28 vote came about a week after Acting Superintendent Kim McLaughlin previewed the priorities at the Allen Chamber of Commerce's State of Education event on Sept. 23. McLaughlin said the district needs "sufficient and sustainable funding" to carry out state mandates while offering competitive teacher pay.

Allen ISD's 2026-27 budget, adopted June 15, projects a $5.3 million general fund shortfall. Projected revenue is falling by about $4.5 million compared to the prior year's original budget.