Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Aurora School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 030358187
VT · NTEE B24
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Susan Vigne, Executive Director / CEO ($38,136) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 111 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 40th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Susan Vigne — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

111 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 111 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,720 total compensation of comparable organizations → $167,440 $38,136
$15,47610th
$29,31925th
$43,438Median
$56,22075th
$72,63190th
$38,136This org · 40th
p10$15,476
p25$29,319
p50$43,438
p75$56,220
p90$72,631
$38,136

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 VT 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
Great River Montessori Inc WI$322,872 Secretary Co-founder $55,328 $60,667 2023
Maranatha Academy Inc WI$323,010 Administratortrustee $32,011 $34,093 2024
Mercy Prepratory Academy TX$319,962 Founder $20,833 $21,880 2023
Down To Earth Nonprofit OR$326,089 Executive Director $48,583 $46,010 2024
Reach Academy Inc FL$317,631 Director $55,814 $52,093 2025
Cambria School Of Excellence Inc NY$327,723 Director $24,000 $22,117 2024
Big Leaf Montessori WA$314,984 Head Of Scho $35,395 $33,272 2023
Gardenview Montessori School WA$314,374 Director $54,819 $50,051 2024
Rochester Classical Academy NY$313,821 Head Of School $50,000 $47,437 2023
Birch School Inc NY$311,558 Executive Di $62,250 $57,365 2024
Summit Academy Of Southwest Ohio Inc OH$335,504 Administrator $48,250 $52,117 2024
Trinity Classical Academy MS$307,601 Head Of School $8,167 $9,550 2023
Mysa School Inc DC$337,850 President $192,053 $167,440 2025
Kingston Montessori Academy TX$303,350 President $35,000 $36,759 2023
Quality Education Institute Of Durham Inc Q E I D NC$302,989 Principal $36,000 $37,935 2024
St Sophia Classical Academy Foundation OK$302,320 President $4,553 $4,981 2025
Phoenix Learning Academy FL$341,934 Director $23,181 $22,208 2024
The Learning Well WA$300,447 Director Of Education $31,717 $29,814 2023
Seton Foundation NH$344,088 Trustee/teacher $42,273 $40,982 2023
Cape Cod Christian Academy Inc MA$297,994 Executive Di $47,400 $43,438 2024
International School Of Greenville SC$348,825 President $22,800 $24,257 2024
Cottage Forest School MI$349,440 Head Of School $15,413 $15,806 2025
Mid Cities Christian Academy TX$294,632 Director $42,000 $44,111 2023
Operation Rebirth Inc OH$352,625 Exec Directo $35,000 $38,921 2023
Magnolia Montessori KY$290,390 President $26,308 $28,824 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VT cost of living and 2025 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 VT 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 default40th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)41st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted42nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted40th

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 (Susan Vigne) 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 111 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $38,136 is reasonable (approximately the 40th 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.