Faith & Reason Inc Dba Sterling Classica
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 995025685
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Leander, TX, USA
- Phone
- 5122592722
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,818,658
- Expenses
- $1,607,426
- Assets
- $2,348,290
- Liabilities
- $2,659,565
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MICHELLE GALLI (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- SONYA DIXON (HEAD OF SCHOOL/FOUNDER): $60,029 total reported compensation
- TERESA MCKINNEY (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $60,029 total reported compensation
- CARROLL TAGGART (ADMINISTRATION): $26,333 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Sterling's mission is to sojourn with parents in the building of future generations with a biblical, classical education, which results in passionate seekers of wisdom and knowledge, through christ, who desire to bring honor and glory to god.
What it reported doing in 2025
Preschool - 12th grade private school
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 90% 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 73
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 34
- Sustainability: 49
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.7%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 87.9%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 40%; rating input score 40; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 11.6%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.46; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.13; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 77.7% of revenue deployed · 87.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 40/100.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.