Princeton Charter School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
223505511
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Princeton, NJ, USA
Phone
6099240575
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,457,607
Expenses
$10,421,477
Assets
$14,598,277
Liabilities
$11,389,171

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANITA MISRI (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAWRENCE D PATTON (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $205,952 total reported compensation
  • MICHELLE DOWLING (ASST HEAD OF SCHOOL): $157,853 total reported compensation
  • LISA ECKSTROM (ASST HEAD OF SCHOOL): $150,603 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Pcs's mission is to provide its diverse student body the best possible education by focusing on the fundamental academic disciplines in an atmosphere that affirms academic achievement and in so doing, to offer the community true choice in public education. Pcs believes that a "thorough and efficient" education is best accomplished through a rigorous curriculum that requires mastery of core knowledge and skills.

What it reported doing in 2024

Princeton charter school is a k-8 public charter school who operates in conformity with the charter school program act of 1995. Princeton charter school is also considered a local education agency (lea) per the state of New Jersey, department of education. The students' education is guided by the nj core curriculum standards in the areas of reading and language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, world languages, the arts and physical education/health. There are no barriers to admission, a random lottery is held in january of each school year. The distinguishing features of the school are rigorous curricula with well-defined grade-by grade outcomes in line with state, national and international standards that focus on cumulative acquisition of knowledge and skills in language arts, mathematics, history, geography, science, world languages and the arts.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 95% 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

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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 90.5%; rating input score 90
  • 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: NotApplicable
    • 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: 0.3%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.4; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.78; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.5%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.1% of revenue deployed · 90.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $9.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $206K · 16 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $797K reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.