System Schools Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461967472
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2017
Forms available
Form 990 2017
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone
6027101873
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,300,030
Expenses
$1,312,537
Assets
$460,479
Liabilities
$95,612

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANGELICA CRUZ (CEO/MEMBER)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANGELICA CRUZ (CEO/MEMBER): $96,197 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

K-12 school: through integrated learning environments immersed in science, technology, engineering, and math (stem) system phoenix prepares students to become the innovative leaders of tomorrow.

What it reported doing in 2017

K-12 charter school

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 92% 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. The required major-donor schedule is missing or incomplete and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.6%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 92.8%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: No; rating input score 0
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 27% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.6% of revenue deployed · 92.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $96K · 6 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $171K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2013 to 2017
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.