Randall Woodfin offers $500 bribes to parents to send their kids to school on the first day

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August 4, 2025

In a city grappling with chronic truancy, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s latest solution isn’t stricter enforcement, parental accountability, or school reform — it’s handing out cash.

Woodfin announced an initiative that will give random families in his city $500 if their children attend school on the first day.

“Parents/guardians, if your child/children are registered AND attend school on the first day, you can be one of two families from each school randomly selected to receive $500, no strings attached,” Woodfin said on X. “This is worth repeating: Two families from each Birmingham City School will be randomly selected to receive $500 each — no strings attached.”

Woodfin is currently running for reelection.

At a time when Birmingham faces deep-rooted issues in crime, infrastructure, and education, the mayor’s proposal is to treat public school like a game show.

The city secured the funding for the incentive from a $43,000 grant from the Penny Foundation Inc.

Birmingham City Schools starts August 7.
Parents/guardians, if your child/children are registered AND attend school on the first day, you can be one of two families from each school randomly selected to receive $500, no strings attached.

This is worth repeating:
Two families…

— Randall Woodfin (@randallwoodfin) July 31, 2025

“The first day of school sets the tone for the entire year,” Woodfin added. “We want every student in Birmingham to walk through those doors ready to learn, and every family to know their city stands with them.”

Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Sullivan recently said that the district has dropped its chronic absence rate from 29% to 14% over the last few years. Officials hope this latest incentive will drop it down further.

According to Woodfin, in order to qualify, students must be both registered and present on the first day, student names will be randomly selected through the Birmingham City Schools’ student information system, incentives will go directly to the primary guardian of the selected student, and only one incentive per household will be awarded.

“We are proud to partner with the city to remove barriers for families and help ensure that Birmingham students show up ready to succeed,” Lyord Watson Jr., executive director of the Penny Foundation said. ”Investments like this can make a big difference in changing a child’s trajectory.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee