Plumas Alternative Learning Services
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 680452382
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Quincy, CA, USA
- Phone
- 5302833851
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $5,588,608
- Expenses
- $5,359,286
- Assets
- $7,471,644
- Liabilities
- $3,774,549
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- STEPHEN HILL (PRESIDENT)
- TALETHA WASHBURN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- TALETHA WASHBURN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $151,497 total reported compensation
- RYAN SCHRAMEL (IVA SITE DIRECTOR): $119,396 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Plumas charter school is committed to providing our rural communities with educational opportunities and flexibility that support students in reaching their individual potential. Our core values are compassion, perseverance, integrity and responsiveness.
What it reported doing in 2024
Plumas charter school offers a variety of programs, curriculum and instruction including a selection of state-approved curriculum, resource center based classes, tutoring, online courses, literature and original sources; character education and customized combinations of the above. A careful selection is made for each student taking into consideration student's strengths, growth areas, optimum learning style and personality. Plumas charter school operates resource centers in three plumas county communities (quincy, taylorsville and chester). Each center is designed to meet the specific needs of the community.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 90% 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 most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 46
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 82.1%; rating input score 82
- Program expense ratio: 85.4%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4.1%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.39; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 21.5% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 82.1% of revenue deployed · 85.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $151K · 8 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.
- Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.