Towpath Trail High School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
341900212
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Akron, OH, USA
Phone
2345420102
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,731,583
Expenses
$10,167,085
Assets
$16,633,097
Liabilities
$10,207,115

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ron McDaniel (Board President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ron McDaniel (Board President): $2,615 total reported compensation
  • Angela Robinson (Board Member): $2,615 total reported compensation
  • Michele Fort (Board Member): $2,615 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We believe that every student deserves a chance to earn a state recognized high school diploma, and that every parent has the right to select the best program for their child's needs. Our comprehensive mastery-based curriculum is grounded in core courses.

What it reported doing in 2024

Overseeing the education of students in accordance with established standards.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.7%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Limited
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.1%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.64; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.61; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.2%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.7% of revenue deployed · 96.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $3K · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $9.3M reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.