MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Catholic leaders, public school supporters disagree on Missouri tax credit proposal

By Elisa Crouch ecrouch@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8119

Roman Catholic leaders and Missouri public school officials are butting heads over a potential constitutional amendment that would allow tax credit scholarships to benefit private education.

Thousands of signatures are being collected in Catholic parishes across Missouri to go to voters in November with an initiative that would give tax credits to anyone who donates to foundations that support public or private schools.

The measure, called the Children’s Education Initiative, would set up a $90 million tax credit program intended to leverage private donations to public and private school foundations. Donors would get a 50 percent tax credit for giving to a nonprofit organization that supports private or public schools, including special education programs.

“Our intent on this was to cover all levels of education in the state of…