The Maryland Catholic Conference has labeled as “very detrimental” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s proposal to reduce funding for a program that provides scholarships for students from low-income families to attend nonpublic schools.
Gov. Moore’s budget – which he submitted late last month to General Assembly – reduces by $2 million the allocation for The Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) program. It also begins a phase-out of the program.
“In the budget he submitted to the General Assembly, Governor Moore cut BOOST funding from $10 million to $8 million. More detrimentally, however, he included language that will phase out the program over a few years,” Garrett O’Day, deputy director of the Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC), said in a statement.
More than 2,500 students – 1,354 of them enrolled in Catholic schools – received the scholarships in the 2020-21 school year. Another 1,300 applicants were on the waiting list. The average household income for recipients of BOOST scholarships is less than $36,000. The funds may be used to attend secular or religious nonpublic schools.
Gov. Moore’s spending package would not only cut BOOST spending by 20 percent, but would not allow new students to apply for the scholarships unless they have a sibling who is a current recipient.
“It would be very detrimental to the program if the House and Senate were to accept this language in the final budget, but the General Assembly can in fact restore the program,” O’Day said. “We hope and pray they do for the sake of students who can and should benefit from the opportunities a BOOST scholarship offers.”
Among those impacted by the proposed funding cut are students at St. Francis International School in Silver Spring, Maryland. The school – which has about 300 students in pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade – is jointly sponsored by St. Camillus and Our Lady of Vietnam parishes in Silver Spring, St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Hyattsville and St. Catherine Labouré Parish in Wheaton
“Given the fact that in our school almost two-thirds of the students receive some sort of BOOST support, the program is vital not only to students for their success, but also for the operation of our school,” said Sam Chapa, principal of the school.
The school, which has many foreign-born and first-generation American students, provides “a good start to the students – and that is the very purpose for them migrating to this country,” he said.
Chapa said that “I bet there are more than 40 nationalities” represented in the student population of the school. He said that students or their parents come from throughout South America, Central America, East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa and Asia.
“We offer an alternative to the public school system,” Chapa said. “Not only do we offer the benefit of (school) choice, but we offer an education that families are comfortable and familiar with. We offer a high quality, safe and moral education in a language and community that echoes the values of our families and gives them comfort.”
Critics of the BOOST program, including the Maryland State Education Association, say that the program syphons public money for private school use and thus underfunded public schools suffer.
However, that argument was challenged by Maryland House Minority Leader Jason Buckel (R-Allegheny County), who said that “Maryland’s public schools are funded with billions of dollars. They are not competing with funding with children in the BOOST program.”
The MCC is encouraging residents of the state to become active in restoring the BOOST allocation.
“The Maryland Catholic Conference is working hard already to keep BOOST funded. We encourage people to join the Catholic Advocacy Network and use the alerts we provide throughout session so they can contact their legislators,” O’Day said.
The MCC is the public policy arm of the two Catholic archdioceses and one diocese that encompass the state – the Archdiocese of Baltimore; The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, which includes five Maryland counties surrounding the nation’s capital; and the Diocese of Wilmington, which includes counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
The Catholic Advocacy Network helps parishioners learn about the issues and provides an opportunity for constituents to be heard by their legislators, and last year, Maryland Catholics sent nearly 70,000 emails to lawmakers. Parishioners can join the Catholic Advocacy Network at //mdcatholic.org/joincan; or texting MDCATHOLIC to 52886.
Maryland’s virtual Catholic Advocacy Day is Feb. 15. The MCC will prepare alerts on critical issues Visit mdcatholic.org/advocacyday for details.
“We anticipate highlighting BOOST on the Feb. 15 advocacy day and throughout the legislative session and encourage everyone to let their legislators know how important this program is for low-income Maryland families,” O’Day said.
Also, a March 2 rally for nonpublic schools – including Catholic schools, schools of other faith traditions and secular non-public schools – will be held in Annapolis. Participants will gather at the Knights of Columbus Hall at St. John Neumann Parish, and be bused to their legislators’ offices.
