Grow Public Schools

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
273166349
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bakersfield, CA, US
Phone
661-527-5000
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$37,138,904
Expenses
$37,438,571
Assets
$59,224,985
Liabilities
$37,834,201

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RIC ESQUIVEL (CEO/SUPERINTENDENT)
  • TOM MESTMAKER (BOARD PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DOC ERVIN (EXECUTIVE LIAISON): $333,551 total reported compensation
  • RIC ESQUIVEL (CEO/SUPERINTENDENT): $315,890 total reported compensation
  • ELYSA VARGAS (CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER (THRU 8/24)): $258,420 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Grow Public Schools is committed to academic excellence and student success, advocating for the best interests of children through personalized learning and a supportive community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Grow public schools is a tk8 public charter school located in the heart of the greater arvin and shafter community, serving students who are at risk of underperforming on state assessments. Our mission is to close the achievement gap in rural kern county by fostering student excellence and wellbeing through a nurturing and rigorous learning environment that prepares students for lifelong success.each year, grow public schools enrolls approximately 80 students in transitional kindergarten (tk) and 176 students per grade from kindergarten through 8th grade, with the goal of serving a total of 1,644 students annually across two tk-8 school sites.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 96% 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: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 86.3%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • 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: -0.8%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.58; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.64; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.7% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 87.2% of revenue deployed · 86.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $32.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $334K · 14 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $109K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
  • Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.