Birmingham Board of Education District 5

David T. McKinney

Age: 34

Residence: Downtown Birmingham

Political experience: None

Professional experience: Taught communication courses at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007 to 2009, Miles College 2009 to 2013 and at Jefferson State Community College 2009 to present.

Civic experience: National Education Association and the Alabama Education Association.

Education: Central High School, Coosa County, 2001; Central Alabama Community College, 2001 to 2003, associate’s; Troy University, 2003 to 2005,  bachelor’s degree in journalism; University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2006 to 2008, master’s in communication management; University of Alabama, 2014 to 2016, educational specialist degree in instructional technology; University of Alabama, working toward Ph.D. in educational leadership.

Top contributors:  None reported.

Main issues: McKinney said that, if elected, he would push for policies that would keep the schools safe and support teachers. He said he wanted to implement programs and initiatives to shore up weak areas in the schools. He wants to reduce the student-teacher ratio and implement a grant-writing team to bring in funding for the school system. He also pledged to implement a first-year teacher mentoring program to prepare new teachers.

Campaign: https://www.crowdpac.com/campaigns/287748/lets-raise-the-bar-for-our-kids-birmingham-city-schools-district-5