Christian Unified Schools of San Diego
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 952406918
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- El Cajon, CA, United States
- Phone
- 619-201-8800
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Primary, Elementary Schools
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $26,096,130
- Expenses
- $26,472,984
- Assets
- $8,038,260
- Liabilities
- $4,471,531
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DAVID JEREMIAH (PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- DAVID JEREMIAH (PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR): $283,648 total reported compensation
- BRYAN SNOW (EXECUTIVE PASTOR, SMCC REP): $238,864 total reported compensation
- BOB RUHLMAN (SUPERINTENDENT): $229,625 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
STATEMENT Recognizing the preeminence of Christ, partnering with parents, Christian Unified Schools of San Diego teaches students to think, learn, and live from a Biblical worldview by integrating God and His Word as the primary source of knowledge and truth. STATEMENT OF FAITH. Our family has been so blessed to be a part of Christian Unified Schools. My children attend Christian Elementary East. We are especially blessed with a wonderful and amazing staff! We’ve had nothing but pleasant interactions with the teachers, principal, administrative assistant, and support staff! The teachers throughout my children's school years have been beyond extraordinary. Their love, commitment, and dedication to all their students have been amazing!! We love how God is working in all their lives and ours too. They bring a Godly curriculum into our children’s daily learning. In my experience, issues...
What it reported doing in 2024
Christian unified schools of san diego (cussd) is an accredited, private christian k through 12 school providing an excellent education from a christ centered world view. Cussd provides this education within the setting of the traditional school model, while also providing a wide variety of athletics, music, fine arts, and advanced placement programs in order that each student may develop to his or her fullest potential. Cussd offers a tuition grant program to families with a demonstrated financial need. Cussd admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights and privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded, or made available, to students at the school. Cussd does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, athletic and other school administered programs, nor in the hiring of faculty or administration. Cussd operates a senior high, two junior highs, and three elementary schools in san diego county, California.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 86% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 72% for direct work, and 28% for grants.
- 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 84
- Transparency & Controls: 67
- Accountability: 80
- Sustainability: 23
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86%; rating input score 86
- Program expense ratio: 84.9%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: $34.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- 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: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1.4%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.3; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.56; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 86% of revenue deployed · 84.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 11 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $22.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $284K · 18 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $266K reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 3 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: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.