Meet your candidates: District 2 board of education

Along with Birmingham’s upcoming mayoral race and election for city council, Birmingham City Schools is also holding elections for new Board of Education members. This year, there are 32 candidates in the running for a total of nine seats.

Of the current nine board members, four are seeking re-election: District 4 representative Daagye Hendricks, District 6 representative Cheri Gardner, District 7 representative Wardine Alexander and District 9 representative Sandra Brown. District 5 representative Randall Woodfin is not seeking re-election but instead running for the mayor’s seat.

District 2 includes Martha Gaskins Elementary School, Robinson Elementary School, WJ Christian School, Huffman Middle School, Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School and Putnam Middle School. Elections are on Aug. 22.

Terri Michal

Terri Michal’s interest in education policy piqued five years ago, when she began studying it because she noticed changes in education she didn’t understand. There, she learned about school reform issues, including charter schools.

“In 2013, I came to Birmingham to stand in opposition of Michelle Rhee, a national figure in the corporate reform movement that believes strongly in the privatization of our public schools,” she said.

Not long after, she moved to Birmingham and has visited approximately 30 of the 43 schools and has been to almost every board meeting, work session and special session meeting, she said. Michal has also attended around 150 board meetings from Huntsville to Montgomery “in an effort to hold these boards accountable.”

If elected, Michal wants to request a forensic audit of the school system to determine where money is being spent and how to better manage it, as well as help implement a fair and comprehensive evaluation system, which she believes would have a positive affect on the schools relatively quickly.

“The evaluation system the state has is only part of the story. Birmingham needs to complete its part of the process so that employees can begin being recognized for what they are doing right,

and so that problem areas can be identified and employees can get the additional help they need to improve in those areas,” she said.

Finally, Michal would also like to promote the use of PBIS, or positive behavior intervention systems. Although there is a trained method for discipline, she said it is not being fully or properly implemented. “If used properly, it can help lower the number of incidents in the schools, creating a safer environment for everyone.”

While she has never held an elected position, she does have experience as the director and founder of Support our Students, an advocating group for students in Huntsville and Birmingham, as the co-chair of Moral Movement Alabama, which shares information about public education within across the state, and as a member of the Leadership Team with National BATs, which is an association of over 100,000 teachers and advocates of public schools.

“I have studied education policy on a federal, state and local level, and I also have an excellent understanding of what’s happening in the classroom thanks to my job with AFT,” Michal said. “What I hope to do is bring the knowledge of what’s going on outside the classroom and inside the classroom together in order to make the very best decisions for the students of Birmingham.”

Michal said she has accomplished many successes in advocating for students and now she’s hoping to affect change as a board member.

To learn more about Michal’s campaign, visit electterri.com or facebook.com/electterri.

Brandon McCray

Brandon McCray’s history in the Birmingham City School system dates back to his school years, when he attended city schools through high school. Now, his son is in the system and he’s looking to join the Board of Education.

McCray is currently the administrative assistant for the Birmingham City Council and has been since 2009. Prior to that, he was the secretary and vice president in the neighborhood officers of Killough Springs.

“Working in politics as long as I have, I pretty much know the true functions of a board,” he said. As a school board member, he would like to build relationships, improve the system, pass policies and work with parents and teachers to help educate the students. “Everything these families want, we can actually improve that.”

McCray said that because Birmingham is growing to new heights, he also wants to see the school system retain more families and grow to where it should be. He’s also a proponent of consistency.

“We have to show the public consistency,” he said. “No more of this school superintendent carousel … And also, we need to keep people in here that are going to keep charter schools out.”

To learn more about his campaign, find him on Facebook.

Editor’s note: This is an ongoing article that will be updated as more information becomes available.