American Association of School Administrators Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
541999773
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Alexandria, VA, USA
Phone
7035280700
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Management & Technical Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$20,859,826
Expenses
$18,788,958
Assets
$35,796,025
Liabilities
$9,396,642

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

175 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gustavo Balderas (President)
  • David Law (President Elect)
  • Gladys Cruz (Immediate Past President)
  • David Schuler (Executive Director)
  • Valerie Truesdale (Sr. Assist. Executive Director, Leadership Network)
  • Marie Ann Levett (Assistant Executive Director, Leadership Network)

Highest reported compensation

  • David Schuler (Executive Director): $620,269 total reported compensation
  • Christopher Daw (AED, Association Services): $277,184 total reported compensation
  • Noelle Ellerson Ng (AED, Governance and Advocacy): $274,142 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

AASA, The School Superintendents Association advocates for equitable access for all students to the highest quality public education, and develops and supports school system leaders.

What it reported doing in 2024

Membership: A professional community of more than 10,000 educational leaders, AASA and its members are committed to providing high-quality public education to all students. AAASA develops and supports school system leaders through: - the national exchange of ideas- access to professional learning- networking, publications and resources- opportunities to champion initiatives to help transform the future of public education; and - advocating for school system leaders.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 70% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.3%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 72.7%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.9%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.91; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.3%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.3% of revenue deployed · 72.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 162 of 162 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $13.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $620K · 175 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.4M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.