Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sam Academy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 453484626
CA · NTEE B28
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jerry D Valadez, Executive Director / CEO ($77,364) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 82 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 78th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jerry D Valadez — reported title “CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

82 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 82 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,815 total compensation of comparable organizations → $161,187 $77,364
$12,84710th
$30,73825th
$51,999Median
$74,38375th
$106,91590th
$77,364This org · 78th
p10$12,847
p25$30,738
p50$51,999
p75$74,383
p90$106,915
$77,364

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 CA 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
Noticeability Inc MA$299,729 Executive Director $154,888 $161,187 2023
Ixora Montessori Inc VA$306,239 Chairman $86,730 $91,768 2025
Smart Kids With Learning CT$307,889 Executive Di $82,500 $87,010 2024
Spectrum Linx Foundation Inc TX$293,503 Executive Director $19,231 $21,638 2024
Chabad Girls Academy Inc NY$291,966 Executive Director $68,249 $69,371 2024
Ludic Spectrum Center Inc TN$290,098 Executive Director, President $104,000 $119,797 2025
Miramelinda Montessori School Inc MA$312,191 President & Treasurer $104,297 $108,538 2023
Allium Montessori School Inc MA$315,872 Director & President $77,803 $80,967 2023
Faith Christian Academy TN$315,881 Executive Dir. $44,952 $51,780 2025
Walton County Christian Learning Ce GA$285,357 Executive Director $27,817 $32,391 2023
Helping Hand Developmental Center NC$316,904 Executive Director (7/1/23 - 10/13/23) $25,661 $29,825 2024
Samara Learning Center OR$279,040 Executive Director $35,397 $36,022 2025
Polygrarian Institute NV$323,794 Executive Dir. $61,866 $69,755 2024
Joys To The World Inc OK$324,415 President/secretary $26,539 $32,872 2024
Ann-hua Chinese School MI$325,770 Principal $2,425 $2,815 2024
Illuminations Center For Dyslexia MS$274,388 Executive Director $43,753 $54,814 2024
Education Destination LA$273,913 Vice Preside $27,550 $34,124 2024
Azalea Montessori School OH$328,097 Co-founder $71,539 $85,231 2024
Suzuki Academy Of Columbia SC$267,327 Executive Director $37,129 $42,447 2025
Kinwell Academy Inc IN$334,882 Executive Di $52,780 $62,609 2024
Community Alliance For Special Education CA$265,586 Executive Director $12,002 $12,002 2023
Bilingual Children Inc GA$336,489 Executive Di $33,802 $38,230 2024
Humane Equine Aid & Rapid Transport Inc VA$262,910 President $7,200 $7,618 2025
Classylinks Creative Consultan FL$338,829 Treasurer $12,000 $12,681 2024
Crest Education Center CA$339,380 Treasurer $53,572 $55,768 2022

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2023 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 CA 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 default78th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)84th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted80th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted77th

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 (Jerry D Valadez) 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 82 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B28), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $77,364 is reasonable (approximately the 78th 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.