Dallas schools trustee Leigh Ann Ellis hasn't grabbed many headlines during her three-year stint on a board that too often finds itself in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Ellis' low-key, low-profile approach is both a point in her favor and an opportunity for improvement. While she has been a hard worker who quietly gets the job done, she has not emerged as a vocal leader who always displays the courage of her convictions.

But after one term representing District 3, she has begun to find her footing.

Ellis, 54, understands and acknowledges the financial and academic challenges facing the Dallas Independent School District. And she has laid out specific ideas for improving transparency and student achievement, with plans to make public more of the district's financial information and to better align instruction from elementary school through high school.

As Ellis, a landscape designer, seeks a second term, she faces three credible challengers.

Real estate broker Bea Martinez, 60, who is married to a DISD administrator, has raised valid concerns about a lack of trustee oversight during last year's budget debacle. Retired video producer Bruce Parrott, 63, who is married to former DISD board president Lois Parrott, has hammered on current trustees for trying to extend their terms. And Penny Anderly, 55, a self-employed consultant and writer, has implored the district to "get real" about its dropout rate.

While these three challengers have hit upon important issues that must be addressed, they offer more criticism than concrete ideas.

Ellis' somewhat unremarkable tenure left the door open to the possibility of a dynamic opponent prevailing in this northeast Dallas district, but these three candidates failed to make a convincing case that they are better prepared.

The challenge for Ellis going forward will be to lead, rather than simply staying in lockstep with the board majority. But her ideas and experience convince us that Ellis should be elected to a second term in District 3.