Wes Moore: The Governor With a Heart of Stone
Wes Moore Leads with Heart of Stone Leaving Behind Low-Income Students
Governor Wes Moore’s mantra is “leave no one behind,” and that his decisions are “heart led,and data driven”. However, his initial budget proposal that cuts funding for scholarships for low-income students to escape failing public schools is at odds with his rhetoric.
Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) is a state-funded scholarship program for low-income students (those who qualify for free and reduced-price meals) to attend a qualifying private school in the state.
Moore’s proposed budget cuts the BOOST program by 20% and contains language that would put the program on a glide path to elimination, by limiting new BOOST applications to those students who have a sibling who already received a BOOST scholarship for the 2022-2023 school year. A curious proposal for a politician, who ran for office on the mantra of “leave no one behind.”
BOOST, initiated in 2016, is a vital lifeline to thousands of low-income families ill-served by their local public schools. BOOST lifts students out of a public system that fails them and provides them the opportunity to receive a “thorough and efficient” education.
According to the latest Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) report on BOOST, the program serves a little over 3,200 students from families with an average income below $35,000. Fifty-seven (57%) of BOOST scholarship recipients are students of color, and over 1,000 students are English language learners or special education students. Students receiving BOOST scholarships use those funds to attend some of the top parochial schools in the state, including several that have over the years received National Blue Ribbon status from the U.S. Department of Education for their superior standards and academic excellence.
According to several studies, publicly funded scholarship programs like BOOST work show the best results in urban settings, particularly in Catholic schools with a long history of serving immigrant, Black and Hispanic students. The research also shows consistent positive impacts of scholarship programs on high school graduation and college enrollment. Furthermore, research demonstrates the positive impact of competition from scholarship programs has on traditional public schools, i.e., it makes them better.
Why would a “heart led, data driven” Governor, who ostensibly believes in the primacy of equity cut and eventually want to eliminate a program with a proven record of improving the lives of the very disadvantaged children he purports to put at the center of his governing philosophy?
One answer is simply serving a political constituency. The Maryland State Education Association endorsed Moore very early in the gubernatorial primary when Moore was considered a longshot. MSEA has never been shy in its animosity toward the BOOST program. After all, BOOST’s very existence and track record of success is a tangible example of MSEA’s hypocrisy. The union’s raison d'etre is to exert and maintain political control over the public school system, rather than serve the students who that system consistently fails.
As the old saw goes, budgets are a reflection of priorities. Clearly, Governor Moore has revealed he prioritizes his political alliance with the teacher’s union over the thousands of students who have, or in the case of his budget language, would have been immeasurably altered for the better through the educational opportunities provided by BOOST.
If Governor Moore truly had the courage of his professed convictions, he would submit a supplemental budget restoring the BOOST funding and remove the language that limits future scholarship eligibility. Or, he can lead with a heart of stone.