Fenton Charter Public Schools

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
300364878
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sun Valley, CA, USA
Phone
8189623630
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$60,809,635
Expenses
$60,320,790
Assets
$89,199,368
Liabilities
$53,100,300

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID RIDDICK (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID RIDDICK (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $270,870 total reported compensation
  • JASON GONZALEZ (CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER): $245,243 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER MILLER (DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION): $217,390 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 cultivate a love of learning by fostering an environment that promotes self-discovery, independence, and an awareness of the connection between self and others.

What it reported doing in 2024

Operation of five (5) public charter schools; all of which are authorized by the los angeles unified school district. The charter schools offer a high-quality innovative education to all students in a safe, secure, nurturing environment where students, parents, and staff become a community of learners achieving collaborative successful outcomes. The organization serves over 2,900 students in grades k to 6.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 98% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.3%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 87.8%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 77th 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: 0.8%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.48; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.6; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.6% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.3% of revenue deployed · 87.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $53M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $271K · 18 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.9M reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.