Rochester Academy of Science Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
873701368
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Rochester, NY, USA
Phone
7168542490
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,304,052
Expenses
$5,950,852
Assets
$7,267,538
Liabilities
$6,010,972

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ISMET MAMNOON (PRESIDENT)
  • DR DAVID BANKS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DR JOSEPH POLAT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR JOSEPH POLAT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $232,864 total reported compensation
  • MUSTAFA ERSOY (CHIEF TALENT OFFICER): $159,572 total reported compensation
  • MURAT KUCUKDUGENCI (CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER): $153,566 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Rochester academy of science charter school (the school) is a not-for-profit education corporation that operates kindergarten through 12th grades and is dedicated to providing quality education to a diverse body of students in the rochester region of New York state. The school continually provides a rigorous, innovative and enhanced curriculum - highlighting science, technology, engineering and math (stem) - in order to prepare students for successful futures in the global environment.

What it reported doing in 2024

Special education: the school is open to all children and does not discriminate based on ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability or any other grounds that would be unlawful or deny the civil rights of any individual in accordance with the individuals with disabilities education act, the rehabilitation act section 504, and the americans with disabilities act, the school provides a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment to students with disabilities. The primary service delivery for students with special needs is inclusion. Services for students requiring supplemental services are provided by the rochester city school district.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 the filed numbers largely add up. 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: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.7%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 80.2%; rating input score 80
  • 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 5.6%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.22; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.83; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 46.7% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 41.3% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.7% of revenue deployed · 80.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $233K · 14 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $350K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.