Here are your Birmingham School Board candidates, with links to campaign info

Nine districts. 35 candidates. Let’s find out who’s running and why the Birmingham Board of Education election matters, Birmingham.

What Does The BOE Do?

The nine members serving on the Birmingham Board of Education make substantial decisions for the Birmingham City School System.

According to the Birmingham City School’s website, the board “works with the superintendent to establish a vision for the school system by adopting goals and policies that address student needs, advance student performance and overall operations of the system.”

The board also chooses the superintendent, which has caused controversy among parents this year. Other important (and controversial) votes include charter school applications. They file lawsuits, too.

The school board votes wield major influence over budgets, school policies, programs and more, but their priority is to advocate for student needs within the Birmingham City Schools.

So yeah, the Birmingham Board of Education members are a big deal.

All nine district seats are up for grabs. Four incumbents are running and they are: Daagye Hendricks in District 4, Cheri Gardner in District 6, Wardine Alexander in District 7 and Sandra Brown in District 9.

For information on the all other municipal candidates (mayoral and city council), please check out our Voter’s Guide.

Incumbents And Candidates

I’ve included links to the their Facebook pages or websites (if they have one), so that you may learn about their individual platforms. I’ve also listed the current seat holders. Big shout out to Grassroots Coalition Birmingham for help in verifying candidates.

District 1

1. Sherman Collins is the incumbent. He is not seeking re-election. He is running for city council.
2. Bennie Holmes
3. Douglas Ragland
4. Cedric Small
5. Jerry Tate
6. Keith Rice

District 2

1. Lyord Watson is the incumbent. He is not seeking re-election.
2. Brandon McCray
3. Teresa (Terri) Michal

District 3

1. Brian Giattina is the incumbent. He is not seeking re-election.
2. Mary Boehm
3. Larry Contri

District 4

1. Daagye Hendricks is the incumbent.
2. Amber Courtney
3. Edward Maddox

District 5

1. Randall Woodfin is the incumbent. He is not seeking re-election to the school board, but he is running for mayor.
2. Buford Burks
3. Eloise Crenshaw
4. David McKinney
5. Michael (Mickey) Milsap
6. Aaisha Muhammad
7. Martha McDowell
8. Andrea Mitchell
9. Angela Scoggins-Watson

District 6

1. Cheri Gardner is the incumbent.
2. Ervin Philemon Hill Sr. (His son, E. Philemon Hill, is running for mayor)

District 7

1. Wardine Alexander is the incumbent.
2. Patricia McAdory
3. Walter Wilson

District 8

1. April Wlliams is the incumbent. She is not seeking re-election.
2. Patricia Henderson
3. Donald Tyrone Silmon
4. Sonja Smith
5. Antwon Womack

District 9

1. Sandra Brown is the incumbent.
2. Lawrence Jackson