Alta Public Schools
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 261671037
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Bell, CA, US
- Phone
- (323) 923-0383
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $18,805,455
- Expenses
- $19,687,945
- Assets
- $51,860,732
- Liabilities
- $43,643,872
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- XAVIER REYES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- XAVIER REYES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $325,941 total reported compensation
- RACHEL VILLALOBOS (SUPERINTENDENT OF INSTRUCTION): $244,153 total reported compensation
- GUADALUPE MENDEZ (SENIOR DIRECTOR OF HR): $180,745 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Alta Public Schools will create model schools of life-long learning through the International Baccalaureate® (IB) education program in the United States. We will create a dynamic school environment in communities of need where all staff cultivate, model, nurture and promote our organizational values of real-world learning and application, servant leadership, inclusiveness, discovery, continuous improvement and accountability.
What it reported doing in 2024
Alta public schools operates two California public charter schools, with the sole purpose of providing a world-class education to all students. The organization served approximately 727 students in grades tk-12
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 98% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 35
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 81.8%; rating input score 82
- Program expense ratio: 78.1%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -4.7%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.63; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.84; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.2%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 22.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 81.8% of revenue deployed · 78.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $15.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $326K · 12 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.