The Buckley School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 951750023
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8187831610
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $54,188,847
- Expenses
- $49,479,285
- Assets
- $186,176,584
- Liabilities
- $74,920,226
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
30 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- ALONA HILARY SCOTT (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $974,709 total reported compensation
- ELIZABETH M TURCHAN (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $496,064 total reported compensation
- ADRIENNE M PARSONS (HEAD OF LOWER SCHOOL): $263,585 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The buckley school is a dynamic, nurturing learning community committed to equity and inclusion. Our innovative teachers and challenging programs inspire creativity, courage, and collaboration. By promoting a balanced development of mind, body, and character, we encourage each student to find joy and meaning in life and make an impact in the world.
What it reported doing in 2024
The school is situated on a nineteen acre campus in a residential section of santa monica mountains, a setting of natural beauty with access to the cultural and educational resources of the los angeles metropolitan area. With an enrollment of approximately 830 students in kindergarten through grade twelve, the school seeks to attract students who reflect the ethnic diversity of los angeles.buckley's philosophy, the 4-fold plan of education, combines the principles of whole-child education - a deeply inter-connected program of academics, the arts, physical development, and moral education. Curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity are encouraged and promoted. We believe that students' best work -- in the classroom, in the arts, and on the field, can only be realized through self-expression and resilience within an intentional program.our lower school blends tradition and structure with progressive methodologies. Our middle and upper school is college preparatory, based on a prescribed curriculum that evolves to include the best of current research and teaching methodologies.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 87% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 63
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 75.3%; rating input score 75
- Program expense ratio: 82.6%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $1.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 8.7%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.76; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.9%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 75.3% of revenue deployed · 82.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $40.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $975K · 30 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.8M reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 10 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.
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.