Laguna Blanca School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
951641448
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Phone
8056871752
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$20,198,158
Expenses
$20,023,564
Assets
$43,341,102
Liabilities
$17,101,953

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • RON CINCO (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $426,305 total reported compensation
  • ZACHARY MOORE (TEACHER/SUMMER CAMP DIRECT): $208,652 total reported compensation
  • JEFFREY SEATON (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $208,139 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The purpose of the school is to maintain a kindergarten, primary, secondary, and college preparatory school for boys and girls, and to instruct, discipline, train, and educate in all studies.

What it reported doing in 2024

Maintain a kindergarten, primary, secondary, and college preparatory school for boys and girls, and to instruct, discipline, train, and educate in all studies.

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 85% 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 - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 38th 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: 0.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.16; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.9%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70% of revenue deployed · 71.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $426K · 24 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $142K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.
  • Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.