Western Educational Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811960983
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Murrieta, CA, USA
Phone
6612721225
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Specialized Education Institutions

Reported finances

Revenue
$110,530,524
Expenses
$110,669,682
Assets
$68,400,865
Liabilities
$53,374,368

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JEFF BROWN (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JERI VINCENT (CFO): $422,232 total reported compensation
  • JEFF BROWN (CEO): $388,409 total reported compensation
  • SHELLIE HANES (AREA SUPERINTENDENT): $380,123 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 mission of western educational corporation is to provide a student-centered, high-quality education for all learners through a safe, supportive, trauma-informed community where students are encouraged to self-advocate, take control of their education, and develop the skills necessary to thrive in the workplace and post-secondary opportunities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 99% 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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.8%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 91.7%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -0.1%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.78; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.7% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.5% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.3% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.8% of revenue deployed · 91.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $101.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $422K · 18 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $17.5M reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 10 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.