HARTFORD - A newly formed coalition is asking the governor and state lawmakers to support a tax credit scholarship program that would save municipalities money and boost enrollment at religious and private schools throughout the state.

The group, known as Parents for Education Reform, proposes creating a 100 percent tax credit for corporations that donate to a scholarship fund that would be used to send children from lower- and middle-income families living in economically distressed cities and towns to private, religious or out-of-district schools.

"This is not a voucher program and would not take away funds in any way from public schools," said John J. Cattelan, director of the Connecticut Federation of Catholic School Parents and a member of the coalition.

Parents for Education Reform maintains that private and religious schools in Connecticut save taxpayers more than $700 million a year and that a scholarship program would save taxpayers an additional $25 million over the next five years by enabling students to transfer from public schools.

The student transfers would come at a time when enrollment in private and religious schools has steadily decreased, forcing several schools to close. For example, a dip in numbers prompted St. Mary School in Meriden to close its doors in June 2007.

Schools that remain have open seats, and the scholarship program could be viewed as a marketing tool, Cattelan said.

Meriden, which the state designates as economically distressed, has four non-public schools: Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, St. Joseph School, St. Stanislaus School and Mid State Christian Academy. According to Oct. 1 records, 580 Meriden children are being educated at those schools, said Glen A. Lamontagne, assistant superintendent for finance and administration.

The city's 12 public schools educate nearly 9,000 students.

Meriden would see a cost savings if more students chose to attend non-public or out-of-district schools, but Lamontagne warns that because the city would not have to pay the per-pupil cost for those students, it would lose about $6,000 per student in Education Cost Sharing grant money. Meriden schools spend about $10,000 per pupil per year.

The city's school system recognizes that parents make choices for a variety of reasons, Lamontagne said, noting that the only concern he has with the prospect of more students choosing a non-public school is about money. He will worry when public and non-public schools fight for the same funds, he said.

While Lamontagne is thinking about dollars and cents, St. Joseph School Principal Kathy Spencer is excited about the prospect of welcoming more students into her school. St. Joseph can accommodate about 35 more students, she said.

With Cattelan part of Parents for Education Reform, all schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford are being kept abreast of the scholarship fund initiative, and parents are encouraged to get involved, Spencer said.

Thomas Murphy, state Department of Education spokesman, described non-public schools as part of Connecticut's landscape. The state is supportive of non-public schools and the choices and competition such schools foster.

Such a tax credit scholarship fund is not a new idea. Five states, including Rhode Island, already allow some form of a tax credit for corporations that donate to a scholarship fund.

Former Rhode Island state Rep. John Patrick Shanley attended Parents for Education Reform's press conference Monday, telling his audience that since Rhode Island began to offer such an incentive in 2007, 300 scholarships have been awarded. In its first cycle, 19 businesses donated to the fund, and those numbers are now doubling, he said.

"Corporation tax programs are a win for everyone involved," Shanley said.

President of the Meriden Chamber of Commerce Sean Moore, however, expressed skepticism.

"It just sounds too good to be true," he said.

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