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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Strategic Twin Counties Education

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 455358881
NC · NTEE B90
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Pamela K Gould, Executive Director / CEO ($72,950) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 403 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Pamela K Gould — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

403 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 403 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$10 total compensation of comparable organizations → $435,023 $72,950
$12,04110th
$27,40325th
$50,913Median
$73,12375th
$102,61690th
$72,950This org · 75th
p10$12,041
p25$27,403
p50$50,913
p75$73,123
p90$102,616
$72,950

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 NC 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
Fort Worth Sparc TX$256,536 Executive Director $58,500 $56,634 2024
The Allyance Inc CA$256,624 Director $12 $10 2023
St Thomas Classical Academy IA$256,845 Director $3,300 $3,407 2025
Convivium Urban Farmstead IA$256,928 Executive Director $12,000 $12,716 2024
Womenpalante DC$255,963 Founder And Ceo $50,980 $42,180 2025
Completing The Task Inc TX$257,257 President $45,000 $43,565 2024
Schelastic Academy TX$257,477 Founder And Director $31,250 $29,473 2025
Lighthouse Christian Homeschool Academy Inc FL$257,479 President $7,802 $6,911 2025
Educational Freedom Institute AZ$255,357 Senior Fellow $80,000 $74,461 2024
Teaching Beyond The Square Inc NY$257,880 Secretary/sr Educational D $65,882 $57,616 2024
Ex Fabula Inc WI$258,248 Executive Director $67,650 $66,614 2025
Keys Learning Center Inc FL$254,113 Executive Director $70,000 $65,523 2023
Audacity Labs NC$258,935 Executive Director $53,750 $55,338 2023
Student Research And Development WA$259,062 Executive Director And Board Member $62,308 $55,583 2023
First Hand Learning Inc NY$259,550 President/ceo $37,548 $33,807 2023
Wattsnatural Tutoring RI$253,345 Executive Di $83,567 $77,551 2024
The City Tutors Inc NY$259,859 Executive Director $63,237 $55,303 2024
Give A Little OR$253,149 Admin Director $46,800 $42,062 2024
Portland Activities & Athletics Lea OR$260,317 President $48,640 $43,716 2024
Wssaaa WA$260,605 Executive Director $25,550 $21,568 2025
Impact Hub Msp MN$252,235 Executive Director $80,000 $76,504 2024
Community Investors Inc MA$260,790 President $30,000 $26,091 2024
High Country Home Educators CO$251,826 Secretary/assoc Executive Director $12,500 $11,943 2023
Reggie Mckenzie Foundation Inc MI$261,294 Executive Director $24,000 $23,356 2025
Courage Foundation CA$261,475 Director Of Program Development/ Le $90,000 $75,213 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)72nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted71st

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 (Pamela K Gould) 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 403 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B90), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $72,950 is reasonable (approximately the 75th 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.