St Johnsbury Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
030181215
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
St Johnsbury, VT, USA
Phone
8027488171
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Secondary, High School

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$41,292,653
Expenses
$36,541,948
Assets
$83,600,515
Liabilities
$12,384,136

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Cathy Judd-Stein (President)
  • Robert M Fairbanks (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dr Sharon L Howell (Headmaster): $523,138 total reported compensation
  • Binaca M Hanson (Asst Headmaster): $189,845 total reported compensation
  • Carol L Lyon (CFO/Asst Headmaster): $178,172 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

This is the mission of St. Johnsbury Academy, a diverse, comprehensive, and independent educational community grounded by our traditions, our deep optimism regarding young people, and our commitment to academic excellence: to teach good character by modeling and fostering compassion, respect, responsibility, and integrity. To foster a love for learning by challenging individuals to pursue knowledge, creativity, and intellectual self-reliance. To encourage each individual to understand his or her relationships, rights, and responsibilities within a community that is itself part of the larger world.

What it reported doing in 2024

St. Johnsbury Academy offers a comprehensive high school program serving students in grades 9-12 and a postgraduate year. St. Johnsbury Academy offers a rigorous, wide-ranging, standards-based curriculum designed to meet the needs and interests of a wide range of abilities, career goals, and interests. St. Johnsbury Academy served 953 students (including boarders) in the day school program which includes standard high school curriculum, special education, fine arts, technical education and athletic programs. The school day consists of a five block daily schedule with 70 minute courses. Scholarships are provided to students from around the world including throughout the United States and North America, Central America and the Caribbean, Russia and the Newly Independent States, East Asia, Europe, and South America. St. Johnsbury Academy offers a boarding program on our campus to 166 students from across the country and the world, creating a global community. The Academy has ten dormitories on the campus, six for boys and four for girls. Different in size and personality, each dorm houses faculty advisors, their families, and students. The Academy has a comprehensive resident life curriculum that complements our day school programs. Students are able to take advantage of weekend campus activities as well as travel opportunities throughout the semester. Our boarding program also includes an English as a second language program for students who require additional instruction as well as learning support programs for resident students. Expenses presented on this schedule do not reflect an inclusion of general and administrative expenses that are necessary for the school's day to day operations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 83% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.8%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 86.3%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd 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: 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; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

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: 11.5%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.29; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.8% of revenue deployed · 86.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $31.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $523K · 30 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $2.2M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.