IDEA Public Schools
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 742948339
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Weslaco, TX, USA
- Phone
- 9563778000
- Rating
- 93
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,186,267,518
- Expenses
- $1,139,537,115
- Assets
- $2,251,296,253
- Liabilities
- $1,718,561,689
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
32 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Cody Grindle (President)
- Jeffrey Cottrill (Superintendent & CEO)
- Angie Arismendi (Sr. Executive Director)
- Jeremy Beard (Executive Director)
- Frankie Gray (Sr. Executive Director)
- Michael Battle (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Dolores Gonzalez (Deputy Superintendent): $417,813 total reported compensation
- Jeffrey Cottrill (Superintendent & CEO): $401,654 total reported compensation
- Cody Grindle (President): $382,184 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
IDEA Public Schools transforms education by preparing graduates to succeed in college and life. The Special Programs team is dedicated to providing every student with the accommodations and modifications they need to succeed at IDEA, in post-secondary programs, and beyond. With innovative and progressive service delivery models, ongoing and specialized professional development, and excellent supervision and support, we are committed to offering not only appropriate educational services, but services of the highest in quality. Our Mission The Special Programs team’s mission is to train and support campuses in extending and improving learning opportunities for diverse learners and/or students with disabilities in accordance with state, federal, and local policies and procedures. As a res.
What it reported doing in 2024
See Schedule OIDEA Public Schools (charter holder known as IDEA Academy, Inc.) is a nonprofit Texas corporation formed in June 2000. IDEA Public Schools (the School) operates and does business as Individuals Dedicated to Excellence and Achievement (IDEA) Public Schools. The School is a state authorized, open enrollment charter school. The Contract for the Charter granted by the State Board of Education of the State of Texas pursuant to Chapter 12 of the Texas Education Code is effective until July 2035. The School provides educational services to students in grades Pre K through 12, with a total enrollment of approximately 79,430 students at 125 schools.
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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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 liabilities are high compared with assets.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 55
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 87%; rating input score 87
- Program expense ratio: 90.5%; rating input score 90
- Fundraising efficiency: $454.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- 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: Yes; rating input score 100
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: 3.9%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.98; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.76; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.6%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 16.5% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 15.5% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: 87% of revenue deployed · 90.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1B in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $418K · 32 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $56.4M reported
- Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
- Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 24 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.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.