Pacific Oaks College

Legal name: Pacific Oaks Education Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
951716809
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Pasadena, CA, US
Phone
800.201.2296
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
University or Technological Institute

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$28,364,886
Expenses
$24,858,507
Assets
$53,298,228
Liabilities
$21,582,729

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Horowitz (Corporate President/Trustee)
  • Breeda McGreath (President (as of 7/24))
  • Jack Paduntin (Former Trustee/College President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Michael Horowitz (Corporate President/Trustee): $1,747,997 total reported compensation
  • Jennifer Gantz (Corporate Treasurer): $400,478 total reported compensation
  • Leanne Wruck (Interim Pres./Trustee (until 6/24)): $369,699 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Pacific Oaks College & Children's School is dedicated to the principles of social justice and diversity, and to providing a dynamic education that combines professional knowledge with a respect for the unique values and experiences of others.

What it reported doing in 2024

Pacific Oaks College and Children's School (POCCS) is dedicated to preparing innovative, engaged, purposeful agents of change who serve the global community. The mission of the College states "Grounded in its social justice heritage, Pacific Oaks College prepares students to be culturally intelligent agents of change serving diverse communities in the fields of human development, education, and related family studies." The primary focus of the Children's School is placed upon all needs of young children and their families, and all those who, in a direct or indirect manner, touch their lives each day. The mission of the Corporation is inclusive of the mission of the College and primary focus of the Children's School.Pacific Oaks College is an accredited college by WASC Senior College and University Commission. Pacific Oaks College offers a range of bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and certificate programs in both flexible online and on-ground, in-classroom formats to meet the needs of non-traditional and adult students. Pacific Oaks College served more than 1,200 students during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025. The Children's School offers both part-time and full-time early childhood education programs for infants, toddlers, and young children through age six. The Children's School enrollment is over 100 children.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 88% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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 total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 65.3%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: $127.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 12.4%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.14; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.7%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 56% of revenue deployed · 65.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $16.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.7M · 25 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $172K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 10 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.