Civitas Education Partners Ii

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
842582393
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3127336790
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$26,343,865
Expenses
$26,179,324
Assets
$5,350,836
Liabilities
$3,850,281

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR JOANNE M TANNER (CEO & SUPERINTENDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR JOANNE M TANNER (CEO & SUPERINTENDENT): $206,203 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

At meridian charter schools, our mission is to create a nurturing and inclusive environment where students, staff, and community members feel they belong. We are committed to continuous improvement, fostering academic excellence, and ensuring equitable access to opportunities for all. Through collective effort and collaboration, we empower everyone within our community to reach their full potential and contribute meaningfully to society.

What it reported doing in 2024

Civitas education partners ii, dba meridian charter schools, operates exclusively for charitable and educational purposes by managing and supporting public charter schools located in economically disadvantaged urban communities pursuant to school management agreements with nonprofit charter holders.meridian charter schools provides comprehensive management services to its partner schools, including academic program oversight, curriculum development and implementation support, instructional leadership, teacher recruitment and professional development, student assessment systems, and data-driven school improvement planning. In addition, meridian charter schools provides operational and administrative support, including financial management, budgeting, compliance, human resources, technology infrastructure, facilities coordination, and governance support.through these services, the meridian charter schools works to ensure that each managed school delivers high-quality educational programming, maintains fiscal and regulatory compliance, and promotes strong student academic outcomes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.
  • 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.4%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 95.2%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 80%; rating input score 80; 16th 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.6%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.2; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.72; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.8%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.4% of revenue deployed · 95.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $24.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $206K · 6 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $299K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.