Sierra Canyon School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 954823704
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Jul 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chatsworth, CA, United States
- Phone
- (818) 882-8121
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $65,083,086
- Expenses
- $63,092,427
- Assets
- $119,125,007
- Liabilities
- $87,521,326
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
31 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JAMES SKRUMBIS (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- JAMES SKRUMBIS (PRESIDENT & CEO): $557,341 total reported compensation
- RICHARD SHAPIRO (TRUSTEE/CFO/COO): $391,593 total reported compensation
- STEPHANIE RUBIN (UPPER SCHOOL DIRECTOR): $261,844 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Sierra Canyon School is an academically excellent, college preparatory school committed to an empowering environment in which students realize their greatest creative, ethical, intellectual, and physical promise. We are defined by an energized, attentive, and diverse student-teacher culture. Sierra Canyon School is a special place to grow for the challenges of a fast-changing world. Our Core Values. Academic and extracurricular programs encourage the broadening of student perspectives and provide an exposure to both the surrounding community and the wider world. Experiential learning opportunities form a healthy, challenging part of Sierra Canyon School's program. Sierra Canyon School logo Our Philosophy.
What it reported doing in 2024
Located in chatsworth, California, the foundation runs a private school providing education to students from early kindergarten to 12th grade. Income is derived from tuition, fees, contributions, and fundraising.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 87% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 82% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 46
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 80.2%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 3.1%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.89; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.73; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 80.2% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $52.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $557K · 31 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.