Legacy Traditional School - Mesa

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
852579672
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Chandler, AZ, USA
Phone
4802705438
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,922,478
Expenses
$7,000,544
Assets
$17,246,710
Liabilities
$17,031,963

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHY SENSEMAN (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • GARY LONDER (TREASURER)
  • JENNI FERRIN (SECRETARY)
  • KATHY SENSEMAN (PRESIDENT)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To provide motivated students with the opportunity to achieve academic excellence in an accelerated, back-to-basics, safe learning environment taught by caring, knowledgeable, and highly effective educators in cooperation with supportive, involved parents.

What it reported doing in 2024

During the current year, the organization provided high quality educational services to approximately 461 students in kindergarten through 8th grade at its campus in west surprise, Arizona. Those students experienced a well-rounded education that included reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, history, music, art, and physical education, as well as extracurricular activities including athletics, clubs, field trips, and daily tutoring.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 74% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Expenses are high relative to revenue and assets have declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 78.7%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.46; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.99; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80% of revenue deployed · 78.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $935K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and related organizations
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 21 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 29/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.