Elite Academic Academy- Lucerne

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
824453363
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Temecula, CA, USA
Phone
8663548302
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Reported finances

Revenue
$20,905,471
Expenses
$20,345,245
Assets
$5,703,198
Liabilities
$3,494,672

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SUSAN ANN MCDOUGAL (PRESIDENT)
  • NICOLE AGUIRRE (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MEGHAN FREEMAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • MEGHAN FREEMAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $406,387 total reported compensation
  • LAURA SPENCER (CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER): $263,259 total reported compensation
  • ASHLEA KIRKLAND (CHIEF STUDENT DEVELOPMENT): $245,788 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Elite academic academy - lucerne is a nonprofit public benefit corporation and is organized to manage and operate a public charter school.

What it reported doing in 2024

Elite academic academy - lucerne is a California public benefit corporation that was organized to manage and operate an online k-12 public charter school. The school provides a personalized learning experience for approximately 1,070 students throughout the southern California region.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 100% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The program-spending lines do not add up, so the filing cannot show reliably whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.1%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 71%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 2.7%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.61; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 28.8% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 27% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.3% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.1% of revenue deployed · 71% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 2 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $406K · 11 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.