Swan River Montessori Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201452996
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Monticello, MN, USA
Phone
7632717926
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,771,585
Expenses
$2,678,964
Assets
$1,412,875
Liabilities
$1,651,158

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ANNETTE VEMURI (SCHOOL DIREC): $97,860 total reported compensation
  • NICOLE PEREZ (DIRECTOR/TEA): $71,284 total reported compensation
  • AMY JENSEN (SECRETARY/TE): $69,753 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide a child-centered environment for self-directed and personalized learning in a small, community-based public school with an emphasis on the natural environment.

What it reported doing in 2024

Montessori education program for early childhood and elementary grades k-6: swan river montessori charter school is the first and only public montessori school in wright county Minnesota. The school first opened for the 2005-06 academic year and provides and authentic montessori education for children from 33 months through grade six. In the 2023-2024 school year 156 students were served. Swan river's charter school sponsor is nationally recognized osprey wilds enviromental learning center. The students have an opportunity to visit the audubon center as part of their studies. Swan river has an authentic montessori environment. All teachers are montessori trained and hold current Minnesota teacher licenses.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 94% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 67
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.1%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 89%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 42.9%; rating input score 43; 7th 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: 3.3%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.17; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.6%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.1% of revenue deployed · 89% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $98K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.