Birmingham Board of Education to have at least 3 new members after election

No matter what happens in the Aug. 24 city elections, the Birmingham Board of Education will have at least three new faces when its next term begins Oct. 24.

All nine board seats are on the ballot, including three open positions.

Current members Mickey Millsap (District 5), Cheri Gardner (District 6) and Sandra Brown (District 9) are not seeking new terms.

Each seat is contested, and three have three or more candidates.

If no one gets more than 50 percent of the district vote, the top two vote-getters will meet in an Oct. 5 runoff.

The August balloting marks a quick turn-around for Walter “Big Walt” Wilson, who won a special election for the District 7 seat in January to serve the final months of a term vacated by Patricia Spigner McAdory. Wilson is a radio talk show host with WJLD 94.5 FM and 1400 AM. 

The school board, whose members serve four-year terms, has been an elected body since 2002. Before that, members were appointed by the Birmingham City Council.

School board districts mirror the nine council districts, and the approximate locations of the districts are as follows: District 1 (northeast); District 2 (east); District 3 (south); District 4 (north); District 5 (central east); District 6 (central west); District 7 (southwest); District 8 (west); and District 9 (northwest).

When the new board is sworn in, its main focus will be financial stability for the state’s fifth-largest system, with about 2,700 employees and nearly 23,000 students in 42 schools. The system’s current budget is roughly $302 million.

Another challenge facing the incoming board is overcoming the educational effects of remote and blended instruction during the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2020-21 school year started with blended remote and in-person learning, but the system later had to switch to all remote amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

A complete list of candidates for the Board of Education is included in our Voter Guide.