Buckeye Community School - Marion

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
854290907
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Marion, OH, USA
Phone
7402456661
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,213,037
Expenses
$12,838,324
Assets
$8,965,375
Liabilities
$10,471,079

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • PETER BARTKOWIAK (SUPERINTENDENT): $275,060 total reported compensation
  • STEVEN VANDERHOFF (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $130,042 total reported compensation
  • JILL HUDGEL (ED OF SPECIAL EDUCATION): $123,256 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To create an educational experience through positive relationships that empowers every person the opportunity to overcome personal challenges and pursue one's unique goals.

What it reported doing in 2024

Buckeye community school is a public high school with an alternative learning environment - what that really means is we are innovative, creative and compassionate about getting kids through high school! We offer an alternative approach to traditional high school that is individualized based on each student's unique needs and interests. Students work at their own pace, choose their own path to graduation, and can work around their schedule. We provide opportunities for students to prepare for future careers, college, and training programs while earning their diploma.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 93% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.4%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 85%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.1%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.17; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.6%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 46% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 45.8% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.4% of revenue deployed · 85% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $10.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $275K · 9 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 13 of 14 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.