University School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 340714720
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Hunting Valley, OH, USA
- Phone
- 216.292.2157
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $51,615,318
- Expenses
- $45,965,522
- Assets
- $271,569,457
- Liabilities
- $40,911,242
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
32 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- PATRICK GALLAGHER (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $480,073 total reported compensation
- JONATHAN BRIDGE (DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT): $288,885 total reported compensation
- MICHEL T DEGANDIS (FINANCE DIRECTOR): $228,942 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 mission of University School's Board of Directors is to create plans, set policies, and take actions that will ensure the viability of the school for future generations of students. Accordingly, the board will develop and articulate the vision and mission of the school and support the administration's implementation of the school's programs through development and maintenance of appropriate resources.
What it reported doing in 2024
Provide instruction to a regularly-enrolled student body (kindergarten through grade 12) for which a regular faculty and college-preparatory curriculum are maintained. There were 856full-time students enrolled at the school during the 2024-2025 school year.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 63% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 74% for direct work, and 26% for grants.
- 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: 69
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 71.3%; rating input score 71
- Program expense ratio: 80.3%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th 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: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 10.9%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.91; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 71.3% of revenue deployed · 80.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $36.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $480K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $21.9M reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.