Arcadia Charter School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 412023497
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Northfield, MN, USA
- Phone
- 5076638806
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,109,779
- Expenses
- $2,081,561
- Assets
- $1,256,080
- Liabilities
- $1,455,210
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LAURA STELTER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- LAURA STELTER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $100,293 total reported compensation
- TAMRA PAULSON (SECRETARY/TEACHER): $78,725 total reported compensation
- TAMMY PRICHARD (TREASURER/TEACHER): $65,549 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
It is the mission of arcadia charter school to prepare our students to transition intellectually, emotionally, and ethically to higher education, future employment, and engaged citizenship.
What it reported doing in 2024
Arcadia charter school provides a choice in public education to 6th-12th grade students in northfield and our surrounding communities. Our project based school is free and open to all. Innovative and exciting things are taking place here at arcadia. Students have individual learning plans and are creating interest-driven projects in addition to attending traditional classes. Not only are our students required to meet all Minnesota state standards, but they are also responsible for additional credits through quarterly project work, a semester long junior project and year-long senior project. We have a positive and collaborative relationship with northfield public school. The arcadia staff works very hard to create individual learning plans for all students while maintaining personal connections with families. Arcadia's small size allows us to assist parents in the education of their child while providing a personal touch long gone from larger traditional public schools. This sense of belonging builds academic confidence while challenging students to take ownership of their learning. The school enrolled approximately 113 students for the 2024-25 academic year.
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
STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 28
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83.2%; rating input score 83
- Program expense ratio: 84.1%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- 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: 1.3%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.16; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 83.2% of revenue deployed · 84.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes related organizations
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 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.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.