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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Center Preschool Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 202938972
CT · NTEE B21
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Susan Trella, Executive Director / CEO ($127,361) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 122 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

122 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 122 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2 total compensation of comparable organizations → $102,747 $127,361
$12,84810th
$31,32325th
$43,912Median
$55,18975th
$66,38990th
$127,361This org · 100th
p10$12,848
p25$31,323
p50$43,912
p75$55,189
p90$66,389
$127,361

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 CT 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
Palm Tree Academy TX$185,863 School Principal $25,832 $27,559 2024
Spring-mar Preschool Association Inc VA$182,611 School Director $31,106 $31,207 2025
Kidz Clubhouse ND$181,028 Director $4,042 $4,731 2024
Montessori Center Of Pearl Harbor HI$188,250 Director/teacher Rep. $73,350 $70,040 2024
Foundation For The Liveliness KY$188,459 President And Director Of $42,875 $49,129 2024
Keys Montessori School Inc PA$190,969 President $46,937 $51,396 2023
First Christian Church Youth AR$192,862 Executive Di $27,500 $32,968 2024
St Paul's Church Nursery School Inc MA$173,456 Executive Director & Head Teacher $73,987 $70,910 2024
Milford Cooperative Nursery School MI$196,484 Former Director $35,769 $40,540 2023
Caring Branches Early Care And PA$196,777 Executive Di $2,984 $3,174 2024
Ganeinu CO$197,571 President $47,760 $48,843 2024
East Hanover Cooperative Nursery School NJ$197,980 Director $42,207 $40,192 2024
Covenant Community School Inc NC$170,857 Director $48,462 $54,983 2023
Francis Kiddie Kollege Preschool Inc CA$199,112 Executive Director $41,017 $38,891 2023
Trinity Day School Of Newtown Inc CT$200,254 Director $47,840 $47,840 2024
Norwood Cooperative Nursery School Inc MA$200,772 Executive Director $50,164 $48,078 2024
Westside Early Education IA$203,309 Director, Teacher $41,151 $46,817 2025
First Steps Preschool OH$203,672 Preschool Director $36,965 $41,757 2024
Kirkland Preschool WA$164,337 President $9,660 $9,496 2023
The Big Barn Preschool IL$205,060 President $9,965 $10,449 2024
Silverspot Nursery School CA$205,277 Teacher/director $79,177 $75,073 2023
Midsouth Montessori Center TN$205,520 Executive Director $69,500 $75,907 2025
Sunshine School Inc MA$205,523 President $56,920 $53,147 2025
Centreville Preschool Inc VA$162,726 Director $17,054 $17,109 2025
Bethpage Nursery School NY$162,256 Executive Director $41,469 $39,966 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CT 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 CT 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted100th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted100th

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 Trella) 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 122 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $127,361 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.