Pembroke Hill School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431326059
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Kansas City, MO, US
Phone
816-936-1230
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$45,070,337
Expenses
$42,295,373
Assets
$185,889,548
Liabilities
$9,729,560

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID MACHENS (PRESIDENT - BOARD OF TRUSTEES)
  • JASON BANKS (VICE PRESIDENT - BOARD OF TRUSTEES)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN SHELLEY (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $762,006 total reported compensation
  • SANDRA SMITH (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $235,422 total reported compensation
  • BARBARA HEAD (ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL): $200,424 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

A preschool through 12th grade, private, college preparatory school. The school's mission statement is "together, cultivating the best in each for the benefit of all."

What it reported doing in 2024

Middle school - the middle school at phs is committed to educational excellence. We recognize that each individual student is unique and has special needs. We have designed our academic and nonacademic programs to provide students with a wide variety of educational experiences that will assist them in reaching their full academic, physical and emotional potential. The middle school curriculum provides a sound knowledge base in core academic disciplines and provides experiences that will develop critical thinking skills, a global perspective, the ability to learn independently and the skills needed to work effectively with others. The middle school faculty and administration are committed to a teaching methodology that is interdisciplinary and provides students with active learning experiences.students served = 268

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 82% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 87% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 78.4%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 6.2%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.4; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.5%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 72% of revenue deployed · 78.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $33.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $762K · 29 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.7M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.