Camarillo Academy of Progressive Education
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 208768213
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Camarillo, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8053841415
- Rating
- 71
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,901,617
- Expenses
- $7,310,177
- Assets
- $10,401,386
- Liabilities
- $742,369
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- RICHARD BUSSE (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MARYELLEN LANG (DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION): $229,253 total reported compensation
- DOREEN LEARNED (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $216,508 total reported compensation
- MICHELLE KEEFER (TEACHER): $141,501 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of camarillo academy of progressive education charter school is to foster global, independent, creative thinkers who feel confident in themselves, are willing to take risks and work cooperatively. Together teachers, students and parents create and sustain an environment in accordance with the progressive school philosophy that sparks imagination, ignites a love for learning and encourages each individual to be and do the best that he/she can; enabling pupils to become self motivated, competent, and life-long learners, equipped for the challenges of the 21st century.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization is a California public charter school. Cape is teaching students in grades k-12 with an educational philosophy that expands upon the "open" philosophy that thrived in camarillo for over 30 years. Currently serving approximately 583 students in grades tranisitional kindergarten through twelfth.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 92% 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 68
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 77
- Sustainability: 51
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 74.3%; rating input score 74
- Program expense ratio: 80.2%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- 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: 60%; rating input score 60; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 7.5%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.42; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 17%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 74.3% of revenue deployed · 80.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $229K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $261K reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- 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.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
- Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.