Valley Christian Schools

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
941495182
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Jose, CA, USA
Phone
4085132598
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$96,546,590
Expenses
$94,922,204
Assets
$130,701,227
Liabilities
$57,959,790

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CLIFFORD DAUGHERTY (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CLIFFORD DAUGHERTY (PRESIDENT): $498,660 total reported compensation
  • KENNETH R SHILLING (CFO): $353,889 total reported compensation
  • JOHN MARK COOLEY (CLO): $351,192 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Valley christian school's (vcs) mission is to provide a nurturing environment offering quality education supported by a strong foundation of christian values in partnership with parents, equipping students to become leaders to serve god, their families, and positively impact their communities and the world. Students attending the school during this year were 2,788 in grades k-12.

What it reported doing in 2024

Valley christian schools is dedicated to providing religious education along with training in academics, arts and athletics for students in grades k-12. Vcs is a religious corporation that seeks to lead students into greater maturity in their christian faith. It seeks to provide students an education that teaches students to do all that they accomplish, "as unto the lord" (col. 3:17). Academics - the academic journey continues for students as they pursue their educational passions while growing stronger in their christian faith. With access to a rich combination of core classes and electives in a rigorous, comprehensive college preparatory environment, vcs students have the opportunity to explore a variety of (cont. On sch. O) disciplines that lead them to achieve their god-intended purposes.conservatory - the conservatory of the arts is to connect students' god-given talents with extraordinary opportunities for growth and service. The conservatory of the arts offers students an opportunity to further refine their god-given artistic talents by majoring or minoring in one of seven disciplines, including music, visual arts, dance arts, cinematic arts, theatre arts, integrated arts, or theatrical design and technology. The conservatory of the arts has expanded course offerings by entering into strategic partnerships with internationally recognized art institutions, such as the renowned berklee college of music in boston and the steinway corporation. College and admissions committees look favorably on undergraduate applications that show four years of concentrated involvement in a specialized program, and the conservatory program graduation standards in certain disciplines are above and beyond the requirements for traditional graduation. With unmatched resources and talented faculty, the conservatory fosters an environment where students master their talents in preparation for admission to internationally renowned collegiate institutions.athletics - athletics program promotes lifelong discipline and good health. While training in diverse sports, athletes learn to exhibit christian character under the pressure of competition. Vcs student-athletics regularly complete with distinction at the local, state, and national level. With 22 teams in 15 different sports, vcs provides the opportunity for athletes to develop in their sport and grow as young men and women.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 96
  • Accountability: 75
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.7%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 78.7%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.21 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 57.1%; rating input score 57; 15th 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: 1.7%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.38; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.44; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.6%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.7% of revenue deployed · 78.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $74.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $499K · 20 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $7.5M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 57/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.