Montgomery School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231352662
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Chester Springs, PA, USA
Phone
6108277222
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,359,829
Expenses
$8,913,549
Assets
$13,902,244
Liabilities
$8,076,073

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • THOMAS MCMANUS (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $264,000 total reported compensation
  • STEPHEN KING (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER UNTIL MAY '24): $145,550 total reported compensation
  • SUSAN MAROTTA (HEAD OF LOWER SCHOOL): $112,414 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Montgomery school ignites each child's love of learning and fosters their individual talents during the most formative years in order to prepare them for future success.

What it reported doing in 2023

Education of children pre-kindergarden through grade 8. In the academic year 2023-24 montgomery school enrolled 292 students from chester county and other areas in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In addition, the school provides preschool and extended day programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 87% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 73% for direct work, and 27% for grants.
  • 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.6%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.56; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.4% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $264K · 27 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $302K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.