The Academies Charter Management Organization
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 371638700
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2011
- Location
- Visalia, CA, USA
- Phone
- 5594294351
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $11,590,110
- Expenses
- $11,221,456
- Assets
- $17,469,942
- Liabilities
- $13,304,380
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- DONYA BALL (SUPERINTENDENT): $234,807 total reported compensation
- COREY MORSE (PRINCIPAL, SVA): $190,710 total reported compensation
- STACI SOARES (PRINCIPAL, BOA): $174,895 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 engage every student in a manner which cultivates growth and nurtures their curiosity, creativity, and talents. The collaborative community empowers students to grow into self-directed thinkers and virtuous citizens, equipped with a love of learning and a love of life; eager to contribute their gifts to a better, more equitable world.
What it reported doing in 2024
Operation of two tuition-free tk-8 public charter schools in visalia: sycamore valley academy and blue oak academy. Our schools offer a site-based, academically accelerated instructional program with multi-age grouping, differentiation, project-based learning ("pbl"), gifted education for all students, development of scholarly habits of mind, enriched curriculum (including spanish language, hands-on science, service-learning, and arts instruction), social and emotional learning ("sel"), authentic assessment, mastery orientation, and collaboration in the whole school community. We support the individual needs of all students, including those who have the desire to work ahead or work deeper in their studies and those who need extra supports to succeed.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 97% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 90
- Transparency & Controls: 77
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 41
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 88.3%; rating input score 88
- Program expense ratio: 91.2%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $714.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- 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: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 3.2%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.56; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.76; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 24.3% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 88.3% of revenue deployed · 91.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $10.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $235K · 14 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $365K reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 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.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.