Meet Michael Roosevelt, Candidate For Council Rock School Board

NEWTOWN, PA — A longtime Bucks County resident is looking to represent the school district where his three children are enrolled.

Michael Roosevelt, 48, of Ivyland, is running to represent Council Rock School District Region 6, which includes four voting districts in Northampton Township.

A Long Island native and graduate of Eckhard College in Florida, Roosevelt moved to Bucks County with his partner, a Bensalem native, in 1997, and they married three years later. In 2007, the couple moved to Ivyland to be a part of the highly acclaimed Council Rock School District.

A professionally licensed architect in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, he manages his own firm, Synergy Architects, which is based in Langhorne. He received his architectural degree in 2004 from Philadelphia University.

Roosevelt said he decided to run for school board in response to growing concerns over falling test scores, academic performance and deficit spending on the part of school administration. The Council Rock School District is facing a roughly $10 million budget deficit next year and possibly greater deficits in the coming years, and administration officials have said two of its oldest facilities — the former Richboro Middle School and Sol Feinstone Elementary School — are in need of major renovations.

"We've got problems on a variety of different levels," he said. "It would benefit to have an architect on the board who understands renovation and construction costs."

Roosevelt is running to replace Mark Byelich, who is not seeking a third term and has endorsed Roosevelt as his successor.

He faces a challenge from Roy Rakszawski, of Churchville, who currently serves as Superintendent of Schools at Edgewater Park Township School District in New Jersey, a job he's held since 2013. Roosevelt said he considers the superintendent a friend.

Roosevelt, who serves as Scout Master for Boy Scout Troop 145, said he was approached by community members over the years asking if he would consider running. He dismissed the idea until this past year, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced children out of classrooms and into virtual learning.

"It's concerning when you see the fire in a child's eyes start to go dim," he said. "That's when I perk up. The isolation of lockdown and not being in school, I saw my kids' grades slipping. I felt that it was important to get involved, not just for my own kids, but for their friends, and for the people I'm surrounded with whose kids I see as extensions of my own."

Roosevelt is cross-filing as a Democrat and Republican and will appear on both party ballots in the May 18 primary. The last day to register to vote in the primary election is May 3.

See related coverage:

• Paula Barson, Candidate For Council Rock School Board
• Meet Bob Hickey, Candidate For Council Rock School Board
• Marcell Seeks Four More Years On Council Rock School Board
• Nicole Khan To Run For Council Rock School Board
• Andy Block To Run For Reelection To Council Rock School Board
• Meet Keven Gessner, Candidate For Council Rock School Board
• Council Rock Schools See Low Attendance Amid Expanded Reopening

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