Vermilion Country School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 271276860
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Tower, MN, USA
- Phone
- 2187531246
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,887,970
- Expenses
- $1,636,917
- Assets
- $955,667
- Liabilities
- $464,943
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- Sam O'Brien (School Director): $95,517 total reported compensation
- Marjory Wood (Treasurer/Teacher): $47,708 total reported compensation
- Pam Zahn (Business Manager): $28,653 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
At Vermilion Country School, we do not believe in an assembly line education, where students rarely have opportunities to guide their own programming. Each student has unique interests and abilities. So, we develop a highly-personalized project-based learning plan that allows the student to engage more deeply in the process, while meeting all State standards. Vermilion Country School provides a supportive environment where students are encouraged to explore, collaborate, and find success in their own way, both inside and outside the classroom.
What it reported doing in 2024
Vermilion Country School served approximately 61 students ranging in grades from 7 to 12. We operated a project based instructional program that focused on providing structure for all students to receive core instruction and credit recovery support as needed. Students receive personalized instruction due to our small size. We provide a supportive environment where students are encouraged to explore, collaborate, and find success in their own way, both inside and outside the classroom. Graduated 100% of eligible seniors, 80% attending 4 year universities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 98% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 66
- Sustainability: 45
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 75.5%; rating input score 75
- Program expense ratio: 86.7%; rating input score 87
- 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: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Limited
- 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: 13.3%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.58; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.49; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.6%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 75.5% of revenue deployed · 86.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $96K · 7 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $1.1M reported
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.