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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southwest Montessori Academy Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 455138320
IN · NTEE B20
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karrin Marquell, Executive Director / CEO ($47,464) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 285 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 51st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Karrin Marquell — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

285 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 285 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$149 total compensation of comparable organizations → $166,118 $47,464
$9,29410th
$26,71025th
$46,810Median
$69,73375th
$86,43490th
$47,464This org · 51st
p10$9,294
p25$26,710
p50$46,810
p75$69,733
p90$86,434
$47,464

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 IN 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
Amundsen Educational Center AK$472,588 Executive Dir. $96,861 $87,813 2024
Shepherd's Heart Christian Ministries Inc FL$471,530 President $25,000 $21,697 2025
Haven Education Solutions Inc MD$473,044 President $12,250 $11,181 2023
North Star Montessori School Inc IN$470,268 Director $64,972 $64,972 2024
Cupola Academy PA$470,082 Co-director $89,304 $84,450 2024
Firm Foundations Academy PA$470,049 Chair $37,674 $35,626 2024
National Association For Search VA$475,413 Executive Director $93,149 $85,286 2024
Cottonwood Alc Inc MT$475,815 President $70,674 $70,379 2025
Black Male Working Academy Inc KY$468,676 Executive Director $19,094 $19,453 2024
Arcadian Fellowship Church Inc MD$476,640 Vice President $60,000 $53,192 2024
Woodland Montessori School Inc MO$467,230 President $88,100 $88,484 2024
University Montessori School VA$466,888 Head Of School $61,298 $57,782 2023
Friends Of Gantry Plaza State Park Inc NY$466,105 Executive Director $99,900 $85,602 2024
Trinity Simone Christian Preparatory Academy Inc FL$464,072 President $42,000 $37,414 2024
French-american School Of Norfolk VA$463,262 Director $62,447 $57,176 2024
Sea-king District Of The Washington Interscholastic Activities Assn WA$462,852 Sea-king District Director $44,325 $36,661 2025
Pinnacle Christian School TX$481,840 Head Of School $43,654 $41,408 2024
Prew Academy Of Sarasota Inc FL$462,414 Dir/principal $102,170 $93,704 2023
Chess And Strategy Game Association MN$462,253 Associate Di $90,623 $87,421 2023
Green Mountain Montessori School VT$482,315 President $80,077 $78,687 2023
Pentathlon Institute Inc IN$462,122 National Director $96,499 $96,499 2024
Pure In Heart Christian Academy & FL$461,442 President $27,200 $24,230 2024
University Montessori School LA$484,030 Chairman $31,990 $34,390 2023
Waldessori Schoolhouse TX$484,528 Board President $13,573 $12,875 2024
Faith Christian School And Institute PA$486,139 President $28,778 $28,017 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IN 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 IN 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 default51st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)48th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted52nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted50th

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 (Karrin Marquell) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 285 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $47,464 is reasonable (approximately the 51st 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 10, 2026.