Mt Paran Christian School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
582273158
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Kennesaw, GA, USA
Phone
7705780182
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$36,558,647
Expenses
$33,641,776
Assets
$61,394,445
Liabilities
$16,120,002

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Tawanna Rusk (Asst. Head of School): $203,718 total reported compensation
  • DR MATT KERLIN (HEAD OF SCHOOL FROM JUNE 24'): $200,762 total reported compensation
  • KELLY SWANSON (Dean of Academics): $153,460 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Mount paran christian school, inc. Is an independent coeducational christian college preparatory day school serving students pk-12. The mission statement of the school is as follows: "providing academic excellence in a christ-centered environment, mount paran christian school unites with home and church to prepare servant-leaders to honor god, love others, and walk in truth."

What it reported doing in 2024

Preschool, elementary, and secondary christian education 1,312 enrollment on a 68-acre campus in the year ended june 30,2025 with 30% diverse enrollment. Low student teacher ratios, more than 90% teacher certification, and over half of the teachers holding one or more advanced degrees support student achievement, such as 100% of graduates accepted into one or more of their college choices, and 56 advanced placement, honors, leadership, and steam courses. See schedule o for more information regarding this program. College acceptances have included baylor, duke, emory, furman, Georgia tech, notre dame, uga, Virginia, Washington, and wake forest. Outstanding programs engage 90% of middle and high school students in athletics and 85% of preschool, lower, middle, and high school students in curricular and co-curricular arts offerings, such as dance, band, orchestra, chorus, technical theater, and drama, which includes a high school magnet program of intensive arts study. The athletics program won the gada director's cup for best athletics program which has achieved state championships including football, basketball, tennis, volleyball, golf, swim, track, softball, baseball, and 13 consecutive years of competition cheer. 22% average of student athletes sign to play at the college level. All students participate in service opportunities during each year. Through a new endowment, Georgia goal, operating budget, and designated gifts the school has been able to provide need-based financial aid to students. The school includes kindergarten through twelfth grade lunch with unlimited seconds and preschool through eighth grade student supplies within standard tuition rates, which are below cobb county peer schools with comparable programs and facilities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% 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

STRONG - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.6%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 84%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th 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: Missing
    • 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: 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: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 23rd 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: 8%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.82; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.6%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.6% of revenue deployed · 84% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $28.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $204K · 19 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.5M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.
  • 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 12/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.