Valley Oak Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
562290850
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Ojai, CA, USA
Phone
8056404421
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,010,939
Expenses
$1,186,009
Assets
$1,746,115
Liabilities
$973,624

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHAWNA GARRITSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHAWNA GARRITSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $131,502 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 oak charter is dedicated to supporting and empowering homeschooled students and their families as they take an active role in designing and implementing an educational program that addresses state standards while igniting a passion for learning.

What it reported doing in 2024

Valley oak charter is a tuition free public charter school serving students in grades tk-12. Our credentialed teachers oversee the independent study programs of enrolled students, while providing support to parents in the areas of curriculum implementation and best practices in instruction. As the authorizing district, the ojai unified school district provides oversight of the charter school operations and the valley oak charter board of directors is responsible for the academic and financial success of the school. For the 24-25 fy, the school served an average of 74 students for the year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 96% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.4%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 56.1%; rating input score 56
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 63rd 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -17.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.47; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.56; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.1%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.4% of revenue deployed · 56.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $665K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $132K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.