The Cottonwood School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
833542401
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
El Dorado Hills, CA, US
Phone
530.285.2003
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$52,083,592
Expenses
$49,320,890
Assets
$24,377,163
Liabilities
$7,348,207

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR NORMAN LORENZ (PRESIDENT)
  • CINDY GARCIA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CINDY GARCIA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $277,355 total reported compensation
  • STACIE IVERY (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $237,463 total reported compensation
  • ANN BUXTON (CHIEF OF COMPLIANCE): $231,111 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 Cottonwood School empowers parents who choose to homeschool their children, providing a whole-learner approach that nurtures academic, social, and emotional achievement.

What it reported doing in 2024

The cottonwood school operates as a public charter school providing education to students in grades tk-12. In the 2024-2025 year, the school offered 175 instructional days for approximately 3,563 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 100% 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.5%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 89.2%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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; 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: 5.3%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.3; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.7% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 5 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 84.5% of revenue deployed · 89.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $44M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $277K · 12 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.