Harvard-Westlake School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
951644019
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Studio City, CA, USA
Phone
8189806692
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$128,185,316
Expenses
$112,832,457
Assets
$831,526,557
Liabilities
$124,304,441

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

Leadership & pay

42 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICHARD COMMONS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • RICHARD COMMONS (PRESIDENT): $1,151,201 total reported compensation
  • DAVID WEIL (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $466,596 total reported compensation
  • LAURA DAVIDSON ROSS (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $430,162 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Harvard-Westlake strives to be a diverse and inclusive community united by the joyful pursuit of educational excellence, living and learning with integrity, and purpose beyond ourselves.

What it reported doing in 2024

Harvard-westlake school provides junior high and high school education for approximately 1,625 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 71% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 84% 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

STRONG - 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.8%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 75.8%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • 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: 12%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.37; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 63.8% of revenue deployed · 75.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 34 of 34 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $85.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.2M · 42 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $39.9M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.