Marin Montessori School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
941567656
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Corte Madera, CA, USA
Phone
4159245388
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,570,256
Expenses
$11,663,200
Assets
$29,496,747
Liabilities
$13,642,159

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SAM SHAPIRO (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $368,972 total reported compensation
  • KARL REICHSTETTER (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $222,165 total reported compensation
  • SIRI PANDAY (DIRECTOR OF PRIMARY EDUCATION): $209,264 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 mission of marin montessori school, in adherence to the principles of the association montessori internationale (ami) as envisioned by dr. Maria montessori, is to nurture the development of each child in our diverse community to his or her fullest potential (cont on sch o) an independent, responsible, compassionate, learned individual who thinks critically and realizes clearly his or her role in the world. Thus, our mission is to provide education for life.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educational programs: students entering marin montessori school will enjoy a program uniquely designed to meet the developmental needs of students from age 18 months to grade 9 the school serves 250 students, beginning at the toddler level, children will enjoy a montessori experience in a small group setting. The environment has been carefully prepared to meet the unique needs of this age group. Primary classrooms offer a unique classroom structure with children staying in the same class for three to four years, until they complete the full primary cycle, and are ready to continue on to our elementary level. Elementary level children have built a solid foundation of skills that can now be used to extend the almost limitless horizon of an elementary classroom. The factors, combined with the literacy and numeracy (cont on sch o) developed in the primary classrooms, now form the springboard for the in-depth research and experimentation which hold such an interest for these children. The final stage of the marin montessori school experience is our junior high program designed to meet the needs of students aged 12-15, these scholars benefit from working the land at the st. Vincents campus, and continuing to learn in environments specially prepared for these adolescent youth.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 83% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. 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: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.2%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 73.5%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 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: 7.2%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.53; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.8%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.2% of revenue deployed · 73.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $369K · 24 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $499K reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 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.
  • 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 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.