World News
Baltimore archbishop urges vote on tax measure to help all schools
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (CNS) -- On the same day the Maryland State Senate voted 30-17 to pass a business tax credit benefiting public and nonpublic schools, Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien urged a House of Delegates committee to approve the measure and allow it to face a vote on the House floor. Testifying March 17 before the House Ways and Means Committee, Archbishop O'Brien told lawmakers that Catholic schools are facing enormous financial and enrollment challenges. He cited the Baltimore Archdiocese's recent announcement of what it called a consolidation plan affecting 13 schools. While the archbishop acknowledged that the tax credit would not solve all the problems, he said it will provide "a critically important tool" to assist families with children in school, whether nonpublic or public. The proposal -- called Building Opportunities for All Students and Teachers in Maryland, or BOAST for short -- would grant businesses a 75 percent state income tax credit for donations to scholarship organizations for nonpublic school students. It also would support enrichment programs in public schools and professional development for public and private school teachers. "This initiative represents an opportunity for government, nonprofits and the business community to meet our mutual challenges in a way that benefits all students without taking away from anyone," Archbishop O'Brien said. The archbishop said it should be "abundantly clear" that Maryland's public schools "could not possibly accomplish their mission of educating the students of Maryland without the existence of their partners in the nonpublic school community." He pointed out that Catholic and other nonpublic schools save the state more than $1.5 billion in annual per-pupil expenditures.
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