More people are expressing support for the BOOST program as Governor Wes Moore looks to phase it out. But now, a key Democrat in Annapolis appears to be on board with funding the program.

More than 3,000 students this school year get scholarships through the BOOST Program. It allows low-income families the chance to take their students out of a failing school and put them somewhere else.

“It’s had an amazing impact on so many families and so many communities across the state,” Agudath Israel of Maryland Executive Director, Rabbi Ariel Sadwin said.

Sadwin said he’s seen first-hand how the BOOST Program has helped lift students out of a potentially bad situation into a better classroom.

“This is all about the kids. It’s about low-income kids, low-income communities and it’s having a massive impact. We don’t want that impact to stop,” Sadwin said.

Governor Wes Moore is looking to cut $2 million from the $10 million program, saying he doesn’t want to see public dollars go to private schools.

“As we are thinking about what needs to happen with public dollars, public dollars do not need to be going to private schools,” Moore said.

Sadwin said, “We’ve been very quick to point out that the state of Maryland, and many other states, has massive investments in other private entities using public dollars.”

The public-private partnerships are in place all over Maryland, on display in Baltimore at Camden Yards.

“You also have that when it comes to health,” Sadwin said. “The public dollars for public education doesn’t really resonate because we know there are so many other things that show that to be somewhat to the contrary.”

Maryland Public Policy Institute Executive Director Christopher Summers said, “This may be Governor Moore’s first public office, but he’s already proving he’s just a typical politician.”

Summers says funding BOOST should be a priority for the governor, especially if he’s interested in helping the underserved populations across Maryland.

“His mantra was ‘leave no one behind.’ That sounds kind of hollow now because, by cutting this funding, he’s leaving a lot of deserving minority scholarship recipients that so desperately need a better education product,” Summers said.

While the effort to re-fund BOOST started this week with Republicans, Senate President Bill Ferguson appears open to funding BOOST.

“In the nearly $7.5 billion that we spend on public education, $10 million on the BOOST program doesn’t seem like a lot. I think there’s reason to believe we can do both, and not just either or,” Ferguson said.

Though not all Democrats seem to be on board.

While lawmakers in Annapolis continue the debate, families are facing an uncertain future for their kids’ success in the classroom.

“Limiting or stifling its growth — it would be like a slow end to the program and that would have a terrible impact on the communities where it’s been so effective and so helpful,” Sadwin said.

Lawmakers have the power to shift money around in the budget this year after the governor makes a proposal.

Republicans said they are prepared to do that to fund BOOST fully. It would require Democrats to get on board, but with Senator Ferguson signaling he may be interested, FOX45 News will continue following the future of the program.