The Catholic parish I belong to operates a grade school. The annual cost of the school is just over $5,000 per student, but tuition is only $3,000. The parish can no longer afford to support the school under these circumstances. The parish finance council has proposed a plan that involves increasing tuition to $4,000 per student and giving enrollment preference to families that pledge to donate at least $2,000 per child per year through the Sunday collection. Children of families that pledge a lesser amount (or no contribution at all) will be admitted only to the extent that there are openings, based on a budget that includes tuition and school family pledges. Families that fail to fulfill their pledges will not be allowed to enroll their children in subsequent years.

One of the members of the council asked if this arrangement will affect the families' ability to claim a charitable contribution deduction for their Sunday contributions. Please research this issue and let me know if there are any problems. If there are guidelines, how strict are they; that is, do the courts or the IRS indicate that there is some wiggle room?

I understand that charities are often required to issue special disclosures to contributors about the tax consequences of contributions.

If this arrangement is adopted and it does affect the families' ability to claim a charitable deduction for their Sunday contributions, will the church be required to make some special disclosure or report about the arrangement?