One City Schools Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471490574
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6085312128
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,211,304
Expenses
$13,601,173
Assets
$20,055,531
Liabilities
$21,037,323

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL KALEEM CAIRE (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL KALEEM CAIRE (CEO): $220,072 total reported compensation
  • MARIA DYSLIN (EXECUTIVE PRINCIPAL): $175,171 total reported compensation
  • NIKOLE J LASKOV FEES (CHIEF TALENT OFFICER): $145,227 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to seed a new model of public education that ensures young children are on track to succeed in a college or career preparatory program from birth through high school graduation.

What it reported doing in 2024

Established in 2014 in madison, Wisconsin, one city schools, inc. ("one city") is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) school management organization with the mission to pioneer a new model of public education ensuring college and career readiness from early childhood through secondary school. One city operates high-quality preschools and tuition-free independent public charter schools in Wisconsin, dedicated to developing scholars with strong character, well-being, and the skills to positively impact the world.one city's current educational programs include: one city preschool (ocp): an accredited, award-winning, tuition-based early childhood center serving children aged 3 months to 4 years through play-based learning at two madison locations. Ocp holds a 5-star rating from the Wisconsin department of children and families.one city elementary school (oces): a tuition-free public charter school in madison serving grades 4k-5. Authorized by the universities of Wisconsin's oeo, oces emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving, and strong character development through a focus on core subjects, wellness, and global perspectives.one city preparatory academy (ocpa): a tuition-free public charter school in madison authorized to serve grades 6-12, and currently enrolling grades 6-8. Also authorized by the universities of Wisconsin's oeo, ocpa focuses on preparing students for college and careers through a curriculum emphasizing critical thinking, problem-solving, wellness, and teamwork.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.7%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 82.3%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $36.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 80.2%; rating input score 80; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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; 66th 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: -11.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.47; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.05; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.7%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.2% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23.2% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.7% of revenue deployed · 82.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $220K · 23 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $376K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.
  • 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.

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 9/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.