Election 2018: For Byrnes, School Committee Is A Full-Time Job

WILMINGTON, MA -- Wilmington voters head to the polls on April 7 for municipal elections. Patch reached out to candidates running in contested races for their thoughts on the issues facing the town. This is the first in an occasional series profiling the candidates running for school committee.

If M.J. Byrnes didn't know what she was getting herself into when she was first elected to the Wilmington School Committee six years ago, she certainly does now. While she is a Senior Patient Service Coordinator in her day job, there are times where the school committee can seem like a full-time gig.

"There have been many times that my duties on the Board have exceeded 40 hours a week. No easy task when your juggling a job, kids and a household," Byrnes said. "But, what I do as a Board Member challenges me, and I continue to be passionate in learning all I can so that the decisions I make are well informed."

That experience as an incumbent, Byrnes said, is probablyy the biggest difference between her and Jesse Fennelly and David Ragsdale, the other two candidates running for two open School Committee seats in the Wilmington Town Election on April 28. Byrnes is the school committee's legislative representative, and in her six years she has gained a working familiarity with current operations, along with the work and challenges that are before the school district.

When asked about those challenges, Byrnes said it was too difficult to pick just one as "the biggest" issue facing Wilmington's public education system.

"Curriculum, safety and security, adequate State Funding and social emotional well being are at the top of my list," she said. "The other topic that define my platform is accessibility to all stakeholders. I’ve been humbled by the trust residents have placed in me over these past 6 years to reach out to me in attempt to have their concerns addressed."

Byrnes and her husband Joe have a son, Conor, and a daughter, Erika. Before joinging the school committee, she had been active in Wilmington public life as a the secretary of the Special Education Parents Arvisory Council, a CCD Teacher and Co-Chair of the Wildwood Elementary PAC (previous).

"There wouldn’t be one defining moment or accomplishment," Byrnes said when asked about what she hopes her time on the school committee is remembered for. "But, if I can walk away and say I was an effective member in driving the education and success of our students, then I would be happy."

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Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).