Youths rally for continued state support for nonpublic school students

ANNAPOLIS – Standing on Lawyer’s Mall just outside the Statehouse March 4, students from Cardinal Shehan School in Baltimore cheered as they held handmade signs on bright yellow and blue posterboards.

Meant to capture the attention of lawmakers, the signs highlighted the importance of continued funding for important state programs such as the BOOST (Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today) scholarship initiative that provides tuition assistance to help students from low-income families attend nonpublic schools in Maryland.

The students also touted state funding for nonreligious textbooks and technology in nonpublic schools and a program to help nonpublic schools with health and security initiatives.

“BOOST Scholarships build futures,” said one sign.

“Stand up for school safety. Stand up for our kids,” said another.

“Empower students. Empower scholarships,” said a third.

The Cardinal Shehan students were among more than 250 students from more than 20 nonpublic schools across the state, including many from the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Archdiocese of Washington, who met with lawmakers.

Victoria Shollin, a student at The Catholic High School of Baltimore, said she wanted her representatives to recognize the importance of nonpublic schools such as hers. With the rising costs of textbooks, she was especially interested in their continued support for books and technology.

“We just need a little bit of extra money for some books and just to help us out,” said Shollin, president of Catholic High’s Law and Leadership Steering Committee. “This is just a great way for us to show that we care.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, included $9 million in his budget for BOOST – the same amount that the Maryland General Assembly approved last year.

In addition, $3.5 million was included in the capital budget for school infrastructure upgrades and deferred maintenance. Another $2.5 million was designated for health and security in a supplemental budget.

Garrett O’Day, deputy director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, is hopeful the Maryland General Assembly will not cut funding levels in those programs in the coming weeks.

“We believe that parents are the first educators of their children and they should be empowered with the option to send their students to the school that’s the best fit for their needs,” O’Day said. “Sometimes that’s a Catholic or other nonpublic school.”

O’Day noted that if parents don’t have the resources to go to a private school, their children are assigned to go to the public school in their communities. Programs such as BOOST help empower parents in low-income areas to have the means to choose a Catholic or other nonpublic school option for their children, he said.

Dr. Donna Hargens, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, said many parents would not be able to send their children to Catholic schools without BOOST.

“It’s critically important that they not only maintain BOOST funding, but they also increase the amount of BOOST funding,” Hargens said. “The people who need BOOST far exceed the amount of BOOST (scholarships) given. So we need to step up and provide for all the students who want to access these schools.”

BOOST provides scholarships for students eligible for the free or reduced-price school meals program (FARMs). Priority is given to students who qualify for FARMs and received a BOOST scholarship award in the previous school year, as well as for their siblings.

During the 2024-25 school year, scholarship awards were granted to nearly 2,500 low-income students.

Del. Stuart Schmidt Jr., a Republican who represents parts of Anne Arundel County, said he agrees that it’s important to give children educational choice.

“Being able to get those kids into some of the better (schools) makes a huge difference,” said Schmidt, who has a child enrolled at St. Mary School in Annapolis.

During advocacy day, students sat in on some legislative sessions and got to see their government at work. Sen. William C. Ferguson IV, a Baltimore Democrat who serves as Maryland Senate president, took a moment to chat with students from St. Casimir School in Canton and Archbishop Borders School in Highlandtown following an active morning session. Ferguson, a BOOST supporter, posed for a photo with them.

“It’s very interesting to see how this works,” said Annie Rice, a student of St. Mary School in Annapolis. “You hear a lot about what happens, but it’s interesting to actually see how it works and how it’s translated into funding for schools and stuff.”

Kevin J. Parks contributed to this story.

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