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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Secret Garden Montessori

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 261520948
NJ · NTEE B24
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rosalie Adams, Executive Director / CEO ($53,821) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 126 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 57th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Rosalie Adams — reported title “HEAD OF SCHOOL”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

126 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 126 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,890 total compensation of comparable organizations → $183,895 $53,821
$25,03010th
$37,37725th
$50,546Median
$64,32975th
$84,49490th
$53,821This org · 57th
p10$25,030
p25$37,377
p50$50,546
p75$64,329
p90$84,494
$53,821

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 NJ 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
Highlands Latin School Inc FL$423,358 President $33,333 $36,109 2023
Belle Creek Education Center CO$421,210 Executive Director $47,077 $50,559 2024
Brookeside Montessori PA$427,878 Head Of Scho $56,647 $61,640 2025
Vardaman Street Christian Academy Inc MS$428,231 Secretary/treasurer $22,450 $27,282 2025
Heritage Christian School NH$428,738 Board Member/principal $30,000 $31,026 2024
Up Christian Academy Inc WI$429,619 Administrator $15,000 $17,546 2024
Fayette Street Educational Foundation NM$432,037 President $37,400 $46,385 2023
Phoenix Academic Center Inc OK$432,153 Head Administrator $65,660 $80,978 2024
Gainesville Georgia Homeschool GA$432,378 Frmr Mbr; Cr $1,800 $2,027 2024
The New School Of Syracuse NY$432,680 Director $51,500 $50,779 2025
Grassroots Free School System Inc FL$413,396 School Director $41,600 $43,770 2024
The Academy For Children Inc NJ$434,561 President $100,008 $100,008 2024
Cornerstone Christian Academy NJ$435,583 Director $37,392 $37,392 2024
Brighton Academy OR$435,945 Chairman/pre $38,900 $40,460 2024
Binyan Yisroel Inc MD$437,133 Executive Dir. $52,699 $56,812 2023
Evergreen Garden School WA$437,214 Director $55,725 $57,529 2023
Atx Kids Club TX$438,372 Executive Dir. $87,717 $98,276 2024
Azalea City Montessori Cooperative AL$439,120 Head Of School $30,000 $37,372 2023
Dalton Learning Academy Inc FL$439,244 President $80,250 $84,437 2024
Simba Educational Ministries SD$407,286 President $8,400 $10,690 2023
Woodland Community School Inc NH$404,065 Executive Dir. $67,691 $68,201 2025
Realms Of Inquiry UT$448,232 Executive Di $54,021 $61,925 2024
Round Grove Christian Academy MO$398,060 Administrator $32,555 $38,619 2024
Living Wisdom School Of Nevada City CA$395,383 Director $31,606 $30,567 2024
Harmony Christian Academy NJ$395,130 Director $52,523 $52,523 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ 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 NJ 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 default57th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)65th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted60th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted56th

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 (Rosalie Adams) 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 126 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $53,821 is reasonable (approximately the 57th 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.