Seton Home Study School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 541536812
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Front Royal, VA, USA
- Phone
- 5406369990
- Rating
- 70
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education N.E.C.
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $14,201,360
- Expenses
- $12,934,093
- Assets
- $22,247,183
- Liabilities
- $98,600
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KENNETH B CLARK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CFO)
- DR MARY KAY CLARK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EMERITUS)
Highest reported compensation
- KEVIN E CLARK (DIRECTOR OF COMPUTER OPERATIONS): $177,213 total reported compensation
- KENNETH B CLARK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CFO): $168,396 total reported compensation
- THOMAS H SAYRE (DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES): $144,443 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The organization is an accredited school which provides books, lesson plans, tests, counseling, grading and report cards so that parents of over fourteen thousand enrolled students can teach their children at home for grades pre-K thru 12. The organization provides a Catholic home education program and publishes over 200 Catholic textbooks.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization is an accredited school which provides books, lesson plans, tests, counseling, grading and report cards to parents of over fourteen thousand enrolled students who teach their children at home for grades pre-K thru 12. The organization provides a Catholic home education program and publishes over 200 Catholic textbooks. Our achievements are measured by the success with which our students are educated by Seton and their parents and the quality of education they receive. Our students average one to two grade levels above their public school counterparts on standard achievement tests.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 98% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 54
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 85.3%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 93.4%; rating input score 93
- 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: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- 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: 44.4%; rating input score 44; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 8.9%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.72; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.9%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 85.3% of revenue deployed · 93.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $177K · 14 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 9 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 44/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.