Odyssey Charter Schools

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954753574
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Altadena, CA, USA
Phone
6262290993
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,761,583
Expenses
$12,386,333
Assets
$10,508,289
Liabilities
$1,915,253

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CARLOS GARCIA SALDANA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CARLOS GARCIA SALDANA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $189,386 total reported compensation
  • CHASITY FLAME PRICE (DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EDUCATION): $147,681 total reported compensation
  • SYLVIA CORONA (DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EDUCATION): $140,966 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 is to develop students who are active in their learning, aware of their interests, and who seek to expand and explore their knowledge through dynamic collaboration with peers, teachers, and the larger community.

What it reported doing in 2024

In january 2025, the eaton fire in the los angeles region directly impacted the organization, specifically the school campus for ocs-south located in pasadena. The fire caused significant facility damage and extended disruption to educational services. The fire led to a prolonged closure, displacement of students and staff, and substantial costs related to emergency response, temporary relocation, and instructional continuity. The organization incurred substantial costs related to emergency response, facility restoration, and continuity of operations. Insurance proceeds are expected to partially offset some of these expenses. Management continues to assess the long-term operational and financial implications of this significant event.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 86% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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 8 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: 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: 10%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.85; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.9%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.6% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $9.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $189K · 10 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $255K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.
  • Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.