Valere Public Schools Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261609474
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2010
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5122875050
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,618,498
Expenses
$13,913,947
Assets
$9,645,813
Liabilities
$7,309,356

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DR SALVADOR CAVAZOS (SUPERINTENDENT): $343,875 total reported compensation
  • SAMANTHA HENNIG (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $139,050 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 vision of valere public schools is to serve as a model school that successfully prepares all students, regardless of economic background, for a rigorous high school curriculum, graduation, and ultimately success in college and career.

What it reported doing in 2024

Valere public schools [valere] believes that everyone deserves access to quality education. Studies show that where a child lives directly impacts their chances of attending college and pursuing opportunities to earn a living wage, which is why valere operates free, college preparatory schools for pre-k to 12th graders that are accessible to the entire community with free transportation and free after-school care. Valere offers free tutoring and its teachers have extended hours to ensure it is providing students with personalized opportunities to excel in learning. Valere operates in several communities including corpus christi, brownsville, and austin, tx. The number of students served: 1,052

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 79% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.2%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.69; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.76; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.8% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.2% of revenue deployed · 80% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $344K · 5 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.