Election 2025: Roy Bant Jr. For Abington School Board

Candidates running in the May 20 primary election are providing background about themselves and their positions on the issues to voters in these profiles, which will run in Patch individually for each candidate.

ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, PA — Roy Bant Jr. is running for the Abington Township School Board in the May 20 primary general election.

Bant Jr. is one of seven candidates vying for four, four-year terms, including some who are cross-filing as Democrats and Republicans.

The candidates besides Bant Jr. are Brian Allen, Joseph Rooney, Adrienne Fletcher, Republican Joseph O'Brien, and Democrats Angelique Frazier and Yaasiyn Muhammad.

Biographical Information

• Name: Roy Bant Jr.
• Age: NA
• Town of residence: Huntingdon Valley
• Position sought: Abington School District, School Director
• Are you an incumbent? No
• What Towns Does Your Position Cover? Abington Township and Rockledge Borough
• Party affiliation: Democrat-Republican filing
• Family: NA
• Education: Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, Master of Business in International Business
• Occupation: Engineering

Patch posed several questions to candidates regarding their positions on the local and national front:

1. What is your position on the Abington Middle School Referendum?

As a former construction project manager, I am not in agreement with building a new school.

Financial risks are much higher. There's a higher risk of students being displaced longer than planned while interrupting their education, and cost overruns are much more likely. I feel strongly that we can obtain the appropriate learning atmosphere for the students by utilizing the existing structure while reducing the tax burden to the taxpayers.

2. How will cuts to the federal Department of Education impact local school districts?

The school board needs to plan for federal cuts. It is inevitable. This will cause yet more potential incremental tax increase to the tax payers of Abington. More tax increases will reduce our Abington home values. As a school board, we need to rethink how to improve the existing lower grades, reduce the tax burdens, and bring Abington school district to where it was, a well-sought-out area to buy a house because of the education system.

3. What education background will you bring to the position?

I have a master's-level education and will be teaching college courses as an adjunct professor. My experience running large construction projects will bring the most value for the present situation we find the school district to be in.

4. What are the biggest challenges for the school district in the future?

Cost overruns need to be controlled, and grades need to be increased. Increasing taxes cannot be the repeated, go-to solution. New thinking is required. As for the lower grades, I want to work with the board to come up with creative solutions to help our teachers. We want home buyers to buy their homes in Abington because of the Abington education system. Let's take a step-by-step approach and measure what works versus what did not work in the past. Properly manage students who cause the most disruptions to classes.