Roy Bant Abington School Board Candidate

Roy Bant has been a resident of Abington Township in his own current house for 21 years,
and Rydal (formerly part of Abington School District now Jenkintown 19046) for most of his
child and teenage years.

I will not wave any party flags. I represent the taxpayers of Abington Township.

We have a risky road ahead with limited funding for the new middle school. It was voted
on, and the voters spoke. The project is a go. I accept this. $285 million may sound like
enough, but it leaves little room for error. My taxes alone went up $87 per month with the
present calculation, plus the other former increases. I am very concerned that mistakes
inevitably will happen as they always do with these types of projects. Proper management
will need to be in place. I do not see this experience on the present Abington School Board,
and their management to date of this project.
I do not feel confident that there is enough experienced construction management, and
engineering management on the present school board, and the current township
administration. I have been to board meetings and my questions on this project are not
being answered to my satisfaction as a tax payer, and as a tax payer with no children
going to school in the district. Answers are needed as we move forward, and the school board
and township will be called to answer more difficult questions as the project progresses. It
is only going to get worse as a result of the lack of answers and lack of proper management
in place. I am asking questions that tax payers are asking me, as I introduce myself to
residents. Right now, as I see it, my questions (and other Abington tax payers) questions
are not being answered. Maybe the wrong people answering, and more township
employees need to be present at school board meetings. I want to be on the board to make
sure taxpayers are represented properly, no more tax increases as a result of errors on this
project, and to end the current violence. The Abington School Board needs to be more in
front of this project, and more in front as we move forward to breaking ground and the
project itself. Taxpayers need to have more confidence in the board, and school
administration.

I have over thirty-years experience building large plants, and building/construction within
the USA and internationally. My background is a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, and
a Masters in Business (MDA) in International Business with a minor in Finance. I also spent
eleven years pouring concrete for the family business. I have been a project manager for
many years for similar projects. I’d like to help the Abington tax payers with my experience.

Problems and delays happen, and students need to be in their classrooms. I am not
convinced that the Abington School district has a Plan B in place if the school construction
is late. Where will the students wind up?

My son is twenty-three years old and was faced with violence while attending the middle
school. We as parents removed him and sent him to LaSalle High School to keep him safe
when starting high school. The violence seems to be getting worse. Proper management
with violence is required as well. I will support all necessary steps to stop the violence and
keep our children safe. I am proud of our Abington Police Department and want to work
more closely with them and the School District to come up with more creative ways to get
violence out of schools, my son lived through it.

Our focus is providing the best education for our kids and the best value for Abington and Rockledge Taxpayers
Paid for by Joe Rooney