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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Heartland Community Montessori School Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 391794884
WI · NTEE B21Z
FY ending 2024-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Caitlin O'connor, Executive Director / CEO ($52,616) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 322 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 54th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Caitlin O'connor — reported title “HEAD OF SCHOOL”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

322 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 322 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$331 total compensation of comparable organizations → $165,364 $52,616
$21,58810th
$37,28625th
$49,710Median
$66,20975th
$91,81990th
$52,616This org · 54th
p10$21,588
p25$37,286
p50$49,710
p75$66,209
p90$91,819
$52,616

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 WI 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
The Childrens School NY$428,921 Trustee $26,500 $22,929 2024
Gabriels Little Angels Preschool TX$429,871 Director $64,900 $62,162 2024
Faithful Beginnings Inc FL$430,759 President $42,120 $36,911 2025
Southshire Community School VT$431,728 Dir/head Of Sch $68,756 $66,265 2024
Sherman Montessori Pre-school Inc TX$432,000 Staff Member $58,623 $54,703 2025
Child Light Inc NY$432,866 Executive Director $94,968 $82,170 2024
Saxon Hill School Inc VT$433,660 Director Of $56,529 $56,090 2023
Heavenly Angels Preschool Inc FL$434,074 Treasurer $26,456 $23,798 2024
Eastminster Preschool Inc PA$434,734 Executive Director $53,856 $51,426 2024
Rose City Montessori School NJ$423,168 President $35,983 $29,969 2025
River Mist Inc CO$435,946 Executive Director $87,524 $80,360 2024
Kingdom Preparatory Academy Inc AZ$436,410 President $56,658 $53,716 2023
Pumpkin Patch Pre-k Inc AR$436,658 President & Director $82,199 $86,190 2025
Elmhurst Montessori Preschool Inc IL$437,054 Chair Of The Board & Teach $72,523 $70,286 2023
Houghton Lake Preschool Inc MI$437,714 Director $25,352 $25,056 2024
Cornerstone Preschool Group GA$419,214 Preschool Di $47,977 $46,191 2024
Gingerbread House Academy Inc TX$418,719 Director $48,768 $48,090 2023
Elite Kids Academy CA$440,260 President & Ceo $26,400 $21,828 2024
Windham Cooperative Kindergarten Inc NH$441,932 Director $29,042 $25,677 2024
Beaver Brook Children's School Inc VT$442,253 President $64,100 $63,602 2023
Abc Angels Preschool CA$442,362 President $8,400 $6,945 2024
Kids Under Construction Preschool Inc VA$415,107 Director & Treasurer $64,130 $57,762 2025
A Childs Garden Inc OH$443,070 President $51,655 $52,386 2024
The Kids Co-op Inc CA$414,819 Executive Dir. $79,875 $66,042 2024
Childrens Weekday Program VA$414,108 Executive Director $42,000 $39,978 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI 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 WI 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 default54th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)49th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted55th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted54th

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 (Caitlin O'connor) 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 322 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $52,616 is reasonable (approximately the 54th 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.