Longtime advocates of a tax credit for businesses that make donations to schools are hoping that the school closings to be announced this week by the Archdiocese of Baltimore will help build support for their cause, Baltimore Sun colleague Arthur Hirsch writes.

On Wednesday, the day the archdiocese of Baltimore gives details of its school reorganization plan to principals, teachers, parents and students, supporters of this year’s bill will rally in Annapolis. In past sessions, the Senate has passed the tax credit but it has died in the House.

Mary Ellen Russell, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, was optimistic that news of the school closings – which was the most viewed story on the Sun Web site for much of Sunday -- would have “a tremendous impact on the General Assembly. ... It's demonstrating what we've been saying for years about the need for this legislation."

Sen. James E. DeGrange Sr. and Del. James E. Proctor Jr., both Democrats, have sponsored companion bills that would give Maryland businesses a 75 percent state tax credit for donations to organizations supporting scholarships and school programs.

Six states -- Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Rhode Island -- have enacted similar legislation. But the effort has drawn consistent opposition from the Maryland State Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union with 71,000 members, which says a tax credit would divert public money from public schools.

Facing rising costs and declining enrollment, the archdiocese is expected to close several schools at the end of the academic year. Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien is expected to announce details on Thursday.

Read the story at baltimoresun.com.