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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Learning Tree Nursery Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 112317129
NY · NTEE B21Z
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cynthia Mantegari, Executive Director / CEO ($5,460) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 192 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 4th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Cynthia Mantegari — reported title “CO DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

192 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 192 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$644 total compensation of comparable organizations → $163,084 $5,460
$14,52610th
$33,97625th
$48,433Median
$63,14675th
$77,27890th
$5,460This org · 4th
p10$14,526
p25$33,976
p50$48,433
p75$63,146
p90$77,278
$5,460

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 NY 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
International Education And CA$225,492 Director $25,668 $25,921 2023
Child's Play Inc RI$225,881 Toddler/nursery $48,043 $52,329 2024
Highlands Pre Schools Assoc WA$226,241 Administrator And Treasurer $58,945 $61,718 2023
Eliot Chapel Nursery School MO$222,114 Exec Directo $50,009 $60,167 2024
Spring Knolls Cooperative Nursery School MD$226,329 Executive Dir. $47,410 $51,836 2023
Community Partnership For Children NM$226,587 Executive Director $86,999 $109,432 2023
Easter Preschool MN$221,830 Program Director $49,885 $54,549 2025
Scuola Italiana Di Portland OR$221,028 Board Member $2,592 $2,735 2024
Elizabeth Seton Montessori School PA$227,851 President $75,932 $86,015 2024
Izabel Inc IL$220,388 President $23,190 $25,898 2024
Hope Ridge Preschool Inc OH$220,348 Director $19,629 $23,007 2025
Silver Spring Nursery School Inc MD$228,188 Executive Director Till 630 $34,802 $38,051 2023
La Escuelita NC$230,144 Founding Director $11,500 $13,497 2024
Crayon Corner Learning Center Inc IA$230,274 Director $44,009 $53,326 2025
Ashcreek Parent Cooperative Playschool OR$217,973 Teacher $43,926 $46,337 2024
Promiseland Preschool Inc AZ$217,865 President $60,800 $66,421 2024
Miss Kates Pre K Inc FL$217,749 Managing Director $41,600 $45,703 2023
Plymouth Nursery School IA$230,926 Director $35,910 $44,664 2024
Whitefish United Methodist Childrens Ce MT$217,376 Executive Dir. $50,529 $61,871 2024
Arizona Head Start Association AZ$216,750 Executive Director $80,692 $90,755 2023
The Neighborhood Playschool CO$215,847 Officer $55,000 $58,363 2025
Intown Playgroup Inc DC$233,068 Director Of The Playgroup $38,333 $38,211 2024
Philomath Montessori School OR$233,069 Executive Director $70,098 $72,040 2025
St Paul's Weekday Nursery School Inc MA$213,947 Nursery School Director $40,000 $39,778 2025
Apple Tree Preschool Inc NY$213,673 Director Of The Preschool $33,930 $33,930 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default4th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)4th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted5th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted4th

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 (Cynthia Mantegari) 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 192 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $5,460 is reasonable (approximately the 4th 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.