University Heights Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522424169
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2021
Forms available
Form 990 2021
Location
Morristown, NJ, USA
Phone
9738894102
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,665,680
Expenses
$19,298,555
Assets
$19,775,285
Liabilities
$15,371,639

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MIYOSHI WEST LEE (BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • NICOLE BUTLER (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR CHRISTY OLIVER-HAWLEY (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $169,100 total reported compensation
  • DR MARTIN DICKERSON (PRINCIPAL, JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL): $141,750 total reported compensation
  • CELESTE WILLIAMS (DIRECTOR OF TALENT DEVELOPMENT): $124,838 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The charter school is a non-profit organization established for the purpose of operating and maintaining a public school under a charter granted by the state of New Jersey. The charter promotes educational reform through innovation.

What it reported doing in 2021

The charter school is a community focused public school where students demonstrate a passion for learning, strong academic and social skills, independence and self-direction, confidence, and responsibility for their education, school, family, and community. During the year ended june 30, 2022, it provided educational services to approximately 668 students in grades prek - 8. It should be noted that effective june 30, 2022, the school's charter was revoked by the New Jersey commissioner of education. The revocation was due to low academic performance. Therefore, the charter school ceased operations effective june 30, 2022.

Operating model

Revenue model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent revenue detail to tell how this nonprofit funds its work.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and assets have declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.6%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 69.9%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 1.9%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.78; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.6% of revenue deployed · 69.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $13.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $169K · 17 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2020 to 2021
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.