The Cottage School Educational Resource Center Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 581484540
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Roswell, GA, USA
- Phone
- 7706418688
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Educational Services and Schools - Other
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,571,194
- Expenses
- $10,149,079
- Assets
- $20,685,483
- Liabilities
- $11,589,953
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
25 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- WALLY MROZIK (PRESIDENT EMERITUS)
- KURT HILBERT (VICE PRESIDENT)
- GORDON OWENS (PRESIDENT)
- STEVE PALMER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- STEVE PALMER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $311,896 total reported compensation
- KELLEY LEROY (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $163,550 total reported compensation
- LAURA FINNELL (HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL): $110,911 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Building a sense of self for students with special learning needs through academic and experiential programming, the cottage school ("tcs") prepares individuals for fulfillment of their true potential as confident, productive and independent adults. Tcs provides individualized educational programming for adolescents who have a history of learning disabilities. We believe that there is a significant number of students, grades 3-12, who are prevented from achieving their potential due to a lack of individual attention, environmental structure, low self-confidence or weakness that other school systems are not prepared to address. Tcs offers traditional academic classes and experiential courses that include carpentry, drama, music, horticulture and culinary arts. The school's unique program focuses on life skills, career goals and educational options.
What it reported doing in 2024
The cottage school ("tcs") provides individualized educational programming for adolescents with a history of learning difficulties. The elementary school served 52 students, the middle school served approximately 93 students and the high school served approximately 125 students during the fiscal year ended 5/31/2025.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 65
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 73.3%; rating input score 73
- Program expense ratio: 71.3%; rating input score 71
- Fundraising efficiency: $1.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 63rd 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: -6%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.04; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.56; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.8%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 73.3% of revenue deployed · 71.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $312K · 25 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $340K reported
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.