Watershed Public Charter School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823340197
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Windsor Mill, MD, USA
Phone
4438092100
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,313,357
Expenses
$4,446,359
Assets
$4,309,146
Liabilities
$3,622,712

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LAUREL FREEDMAN (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • LAUREL FREEDMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • LINDITA DIETZEN (TREASURER)
  • ANGELA DONN (SECRETARY)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Watershed public charter school provides an interconnected learning environment, where hands-on exploration and creative expression foster the learning process. Our community promotes rigorous academic achievement, meaningful outdoor experiences and continuous growth for all students.

What it reported doing in 2024

Watershed public charter school (wpcs) is an environmental arts charter school located in baltimore county, md. Admission is open to any county resident and selected via lottery. Wpcs is a public school that uses a teacher created, hands-on, multidisciplinary curriculum. We encourage students and staff to spend time outdoors engaging with our campus, outdoor classroom and micro-farm.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.8%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 92.9%; rating input score 93
  • 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: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.97; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.84; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.3% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21.7% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 43.3% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.8% of revenue deployed · 92.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.