Center For Applied Science & Technology Network
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 825253554
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2018–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Antonio, TX, USA
- Phone
- 2104629991
- Rating
- 71
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Educational Services and Schools - Other
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,544,934
- Expenses
- $3,303,630
- Assets
- $1,667,475
- Liabilities
- $419,208
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jeanne Russell (Executive Director)
- Lisa Lewis (President)
- Dr Lyssa Ochoa (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Jeanne Russell (Executive Director): $230,743 total reported compensation
- Eddie Rodriguez (Secretary/Director of Partnerships): $152,364 total reported compensation
- Jennifer M Maestas (Deputy Director): $151,826 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 Center for Applied Science & Technology Network (CAST) is a San Antonio-based network of tuition-free public schools with a mission to reinvent schooling in order to maximize options for students while preparing them for college, career, and life. Open to all Bexar County students. The Network includes CAST Tech, CAST Teach, CAST Stem, CAST Med, CAST Lead, CAST Imagine and Advanced Learning Academy. Schools are co-created with industries and partners with area public school districts including Northside ISD, San Antonio ISD, Southwest ISD and East Central ISD. For more information, visit castschools.com.
What it reported doing in 2024
As of June 30, 2025, CAST Schools consisted of 7 schools in operation CAST Tech, CAST STEM, CAST Med, CAST Lead, CAST Teach, the Advanced Learning Academy (ALA)a pre-K through 12th-grade campus, and CAST Imagine Middle School. CAST Schools Programmatic Support (Programs): The Network provides many additional programs as part of its career-centered, experiential approach to learning, that would not otherwise be available to students, and the majority of which are funded through grants. Some examples include travel, job shadowing, internships, service programs, career-connected workshops such as speed interviewing and networking, as well as signature experiences such as the network-wide Youth Rally, and a conference organized and led entirely by students. CAST Network develops strategies and provides leadership for the non-profit organization and oversees the CAST Schools, insuring fidelity of implementation of the model.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 94
- Sustainability: 51
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 64.5%; rating input score 65
- Program expense ratio: 88.8%; rating input score 89
- 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: 27.3%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 16.2%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -2.7% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 64.5% of revenue deployed · 88.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $231K · 12 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.