Cornerspring Montessori School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 260181216
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Belfast, ME, USA
- Phone
- 2073385800
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Primary, Elementary Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,072,597
- Expenses
- $995,709
- Assets
- $2,027,476
- Liabilities
- $1,110,721
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Geir Gasiednes (President)
- Geoff Bird (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Susan J Beemer (Head of School): $85,188 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 Cornerspring Montessori School's purpose is to provide a learning environment in which children are able to reach their individual potential.
What it reported doing in 2024
Cornerspring Montessori School provides private educational services to todler, preschool, elementary and middle school levels. The Montessori approach is designed to assist children in acquiring the social skills and self confidence needed to achieve their potential. The School does this by building on the interests of the children, nurturing enthusiasm and making activities available that fit individual needs.Cornerspring Montessori School also offers before and after school programs for students who attend public schools and also a summer camp that spans between 4-8 weeks depending on the year and enrollment.As of 08/31/25, Cornerspring Montessori School had 95 students enrolled.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 91% 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.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 73
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 52
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 68.9%; rating input score 69
- Program expense ratio: 74.2%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $287.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 7.2%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.04; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.55; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.6%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 68.9% of revenue deployed · 74.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $739K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $85K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.