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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Mckeen Street Learning Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 010503294
ME · NTEE B21Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of James J Ruth, Executive Director / CEO ($78,321) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 302 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 90th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: James J Ruth — reported title “PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

302 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 302 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$346 total compensation of comparable organizations → $149,846 $78,321
$17,09010th
$34,68825th
$47,225Median
$61,03175th
$77,87190th
$78,321This org · 90th
p10$17,090
p25$34,688
p50$47,225
p75$61,031
p90$77,871
$78,321

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to ME cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Montessori In The Woods Inc PA$359,904 Executive Director $50,000 $51,266 2023
Haytown Road Nursery School NJ$358,488 School Director $47,016 $43,160 2023
Live Oak Preschool CA$358,451 Executive Dir. $75,665 $63,568 2025
Mia Bella Child Discovery Center Inc FL$360,462 Director And President $27,346 $25,655 2024
Fuzzy Bear Ministry Preschool & Day IN$360,690 Office Manag $30,671 $33,255 2023
Glenridge Nursery School CA$361,159 Program Dir $149,326 $128,770 2024
Spring Hill Center NH$357,304 Program Director $49,527 $45,670 2024
Bee Loved Preschool A Preschool Of Bcumc TX$355,942 Bee Loved Director $53,125 $51,703 2025
Asbury Preschool NC$363,456 Director $18,400 $18,497 2025
Centro De Educacion Integral Soles Del Jardin Inc PR$363,804 Director $2,400 $2,338 2025
Colebrook Community Child Care NH$354,795 Executive Director $60,702 $55,975 2024
Early Foundations Inc PA$354,551 President $15,261 $15,648 2023
Touch Heart Center For Development Inc VA$354,268 Director $21,500 $20,731 2024
The Way Enterprises Inc CA$354,246 Ceo $46,000 $38,645 2025
Massachusetts Head Start Association Inc MA$353,945 Executive Director $112,997 $101,405 2024
Tauxemont Cooperative Preschool Inc VA$365,352 Director/teacher $61,933 $61,483 2023
Childrens Center Inc CT$365,688 President, Director $61,669 $57,744 2024
Christ Our Savior Academy Inc TN$366,200 Director $63,430 $68,552 2023
Jens Infants And Toddlers Inc LA$352,583 President $35,630 $39,181 2024
The Childrens Institute At Jericho Inc VT$366,602 Director $67,332 $67,681 2024
Little Sprouts Learning Center Inc MN$352,085 Board Member $37,711 $38,312 2023
Mancos Valley Dragonfly School CO$351,958 Executive Dir. $40,800 $39,070 2024
Meadows Place Preschool TX$351,827 Executive Director $54,000 $55,538 2023
Creative Beginning Child Care Center NY$351,556 Executive Director $56,288 $49,486 2025
Mendon Community Nursery School NY$367,557 Executive Direc $23,939 $21,046 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ME cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to ME cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default90th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)88th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted90th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted90th

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (James J Ruth) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 302 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $78,321 is reasonable (approximately the 90th percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.