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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Learning Tree Christian School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 200133097
WY · NTEE B21
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lori Johnson, Executive Director / CEO ($40,277) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 240 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 48th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Lori Johnson — reported title “School director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

240 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 240 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$530 total compensation of comparable organizations → $134,073 $40,277
$12,55010th
$29,21125th
$40,586Median
$52,33675th
$64,26790th
$40,277This org · 48th
p10$12,550
p25$29,211
p50$40,586
p75$52,336
p90$64,267
$40,277

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 WY 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
Hilltop Nursery School Of Costa Mesa CA$253,479 Director $37,840 $30,514 2024
Great And Small Inc CA$254,066 Dirctor $17,500 $14,529 2023
Purple Moose Enrichment Preschool Inc IL$254,290 President $97,485 $89,501 2024
Valley Drive Preschool Inc VA$252,977 Director $26,736 $24,820 2023
Passion Preschool Educational Childcare AZ$252,201 Preschool Dir From 3-2024 To 8-2024 $39,759 $35,708 2024
Early Learning Center At Richard Winn SC$251,325 Elc Director $30,000 $28,474 2025
Casa Dei Bambini Montessori School OR$256,929 Academic Direct $68,761 $58,096 2025
Minneapolis Nature Preschool MN$257,058 Director $39,524 $36,471 2024
Carter Nursery School Inc MA$258,376 School Director $63,900 $55,208 2023
Northeast Iowa Montessori School IA$248,842 Head Of Scho $36,980 $38,929 2023
Sheldonville Community Center Inc MA$248,086 Exec Director $47,132 $39,553 2024
California Kindergarten Association CA$247,867 President $8,200 $6,808 2023
Monarch Montessori School MN$259,806 Executive Director $63,000 $58,134 2024
Wee Love Preschool CO$247,410 Executive Di $83,516 $72,858 2025
One Step Ministries VA$247,383 President $24,930 $23,143 2023
Little Shepherds Day Care KY$246,887 Director $40,996 $41,132 2024
Hopmeadow Nursery School Inc CT$246,117 Director $45,490 $38,804 2025
Childrens House Preschool Inc CO$245,629 Executive Director $80,335 $70,083 2025
Miss Ellies Education Center Inc PA$244,518 President $60,000 $55,877 2024
Giving Tree Montessori Inc TN$263,753 President $15,300 $15,463 2023
Bayard Tiger Cub Childcare Center NE$243,680 Treasurer $2,673 $2,764 2023
Fullerton Community Nursery School CA$243,626 Director $36,365 $29,325 2024
Early Learning Center Inc NJ$264,245 President $61,700 $52,964 2023
Annandale Preschool Association Inc VA$264,265 Executive Director $43,094 $37,856 2025
Family Cooperative Preschool Inc MA$243,159 School Direc $47,507 $39,867 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WY 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 WY 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 default48th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)40th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted50th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted48th

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 (Lori Johnson) 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 240 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $40,277 is reasonable (approximately the 48th 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.