Sage Hill School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
330729698
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Newport Coast, CA, US
Phone
949.219.0100
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$42,733,653
Expenses
$34,896,174
Assets
$201,731,966
Liabilities
$79,375,954

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • PATRICIA MERZ (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $1,172,530 total reported compensation
  • JILL LIVERMORE (CFOO): $362,674 total reported compensation
  • MATTHEW BALOSSI (ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL): $347,138 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We inspire in our students a love of knowledge and the ability to use that knowledge creatively, compassionately and courageously throughout their lives. Accreditation acknowledges the excellence upon which the school is built: a clear and compelling mission; a rigorous college preparatory curriculum; excellence in teaching; a motivated and diverse student body; and a state-of-the-art learning environment. In addition, accreditation certifies—to colleges, to other schools and to the general public—that an institution is successfully accomplishing its mission; has met rigorous standards for planning, organization, curriculum, assessment, and student support; is providing resources adequate to deliver the school’s programs; and is consistently seeking self-improvement. In addition to its accreditations, Sage Hill School is a member of the Natio.

What it reported doing in 2024

Sage hill school is an independent high school located on 30 acres in newport coast, California. The school provides more than 560 students with small class sizes that average 16 students per teacher, outstanding academic curricula and a dedicated team of college counselors. The school offers its students a rich and dynamic curriculum that promotes critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. Outside the classroom, students are encouraged to participate in athletics, explore their artistic abilities, and engage in the world beyond the campus through service to the community, internships and educational travel.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 77% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 59.7%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 78.1%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 27th 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18.3%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.78; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 59.7% of revenue deployed · 78.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $27.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.2M · 23 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.1M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.