Dakota Montessori School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450308160
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Fargo, ND, USA
Phone
7012359184
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,703,578
Expenses
$1,657,820
Assets
$2,740,162
Liabilities
$484,518

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ENEJ GASEVIC (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JULIA JONES (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $121,136 total reported compensation
  • JAMIE JOHNSON (BUSINESS MANAGER): $85,285 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To nurture children to become lifelong learners and citizens of the world using the montessori method of education.

What it reported doing in 2024

Dakota montessori school educates and provides childcare for children.infants - the infant community accepts children at six weeks of age. They are free to grow and develop at their own pace, in calm, serene environment. Most parents sense that the montessori infant community provides their child something special.toddlers - for nearly a century montessori teachers have been observing toddlers and creating a learning environment that responds to the developmental needs of early childhood with the benefit of a caring nurturing environment. Toddlers learn faster than most at any other time in their life. The toddler community respects this time in a child's life and offers group activities, as well as independent work periods.pre-primary - the pre-primary community is primarily focused on five areas practical life, seasonal, language, math and cultural studies. The emphasis is on individual learning, though there are daily group lessons and social interactions. The pre-primary children make choices in areas that are of the greatest interest to them. Once the activity is introduced, the teacher is able to withdraw and the child is able to work independently. The love of learning is fostered each day and a sprint of respect and cooperation is developed.elementary - the montessori elementary experience responds to the child's expanding view of the universe. Many new materials are introduced as the child enters into more abstract thinking. Their developing imagination embraces concepts larger than their immediate environment. The elementary curriculum is interdisciplinary, allowing science, social studies, the arts, language, math and foreign language converging in studies guided by the child's own questions. Emphasis is placed on the connections between the different areas of study, not on the mere presentations of detail.

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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.3%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 73.5%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 1; 1st 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.7%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.65; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.5%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.3% of revenue deployed · 73.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $121K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 1/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.