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Maryland needs BOAST

Originally published in the Frederick News-Post

Education

by Marta Hummel Mossburg

OP-EDS

Educating children usually ranks behind paying off the teachers union in Maryland for political support.

But one bill before the General Assembly this year puts students first: BOAST. Building Opportunities for All Students and Teachers would give a tax credit to businesses for donations to nonprofit scholarship organizations or nonprofit groups that support innovative educational programs for public school students offered by places such as the Maryland Science Center and enrichment programs for public school teachers.

Passing it this year would help to stem the tide of closings at Catholic schools, which provide an excellent education for thousands less than the cost to educate a child in a public school. Catholic schools save state taxpayers about $690 million a year. All state private schools, including Catholic schools, save state taxpayers about $1.5 billion by taking their children off public school rolls. With 13 of 64 Catholic schools slated to close next year in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the timing could not be more important.

But it is not just about saving money. Delegate James Proctor Jr., D-Prince George's and Calvert, lead sponsor of the bill in the House of Delegates, said that "the goal of the legislation is to keep Maryland number one in education."

The former public school teacher and principal said it would allow schools to more easily solicit support within their communities and pay for teachers to take classes they need to improve their skills. "If I was a principal, I'd be out there making sure all the organizations were contributing," said Proctor.

As a board member of Children's Scholarship Fund-Baltimore (csfbaltimore.org), which gives partial scholarships to about 425 low-income Baltimore city students, I know it would help us to take thousands of children off our waiting list as similar legislation in Pennsylvania did for our sister organization in Philadelphia.

It would also help to provide more continuity for our children, 74 of whom will be displaced because of the Catholic school closings next year. And it would give us and other scholarship organizations like us throughout the state a chance to place more children in schools that are accountable to parents and with a proven track record.

Proctor is not the only Democrat to support the bill (SB 385/HB 946). It has wide bipartisan support in both the Senate and House of Delegates, where 75 members have co-sponsored the legislation. Even Gov. Martin O'Malley endorsed it this year after years of silence on it.

In a letter to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee last week, he wrote: "The BOAST tax credit will help preserve Maryland's rich tradition of highly performing public and private schools. Furthermore, it will save public schools systems from added costs that are far in excess of the public revenues needed to fund the tax credit."

BOAST passed the Senate in 2008. The only holdup on the bill has been Delegate Sheila Hixson, D-Montgomery, chairwoman of the House Ways and Means Committee and recipient of thousands of dollars in the past decade both individually and as part of a slate of Democratic candidates from the Maryland State Education Association, which opposes the bill.

Six other states have passed similar legislation: Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana and Rhode Island. It makes sense for Maryland, too. Not only is it a way to secure long-term funding for all students and teachers without higher taxes, it is a rare chance for legislators to show that students are more important than special interests.

Marta Mossburg is a senior fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute. mmossburg@mdpolicy.org