Texas Association of School Boards Legal Assistance Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
742147550
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
8005805345
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$227,456
Expenses
$224,169
Assets
$350,879
Liabilities
$118,153

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

People named in this filing

  • ARMANDO RODRIGUEZ (BOARD CHAIR (THROUGH SEPT 2024))
  • ROLINDA SCHMIDT (BOARD CHAIR (BEGIN SEPT 2024))
  • MARTHA SALAZAR-ZAMORA (TRUSTEE (THROUGH MAY 2025))

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the tasb legal assistance fund (laf) is to favorably impact the outcome of legal issues that significantly affect public education by initiating and supporting legal action.

What it reported doing in 2024

Laf's primary exempt purpose is to advocate in legal proceedings on issues or causes that will likely affect the public schools of Texas. Laf's advocacy primarily takes the form of amicus, or "friend of the court" briefs. Laf assists participating member districts in proceedings that have a statewide impact on public schools by ensuring that unique legal positions vital to school management are thoroughly researched and presented. A high level of expertise and competence are required to advocate in this specialized area of law. Laf's goal is to ensure that significant cases will not be decided adversely through lack of support. All school districts benefit from these services while only 746 are actual members.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 94% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 50%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 53.9%; rating input score 54
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.4%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.57; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -7.7% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.8% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 50% of revenue deployed · 53.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $121K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $186K reported
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 50/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 54/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.