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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Gazelle Creative Learning School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 463999120
CA · NTEE B21
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jon-paul Barkhurst, Executive Director / CEO ($102,550) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 32 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Jon-paul Barkhurst — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

32 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 32 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,990 total compensation of comparable organizations → $150,000 $102,550
$8,84810th
$24,30425th
$57,138Median
$73,79775th
$79,71690th
$102,550This org · 91st
p10$8,848
p25$24,304
p50$57,138
p75$73,797
p90$79,716
$102,550

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
Altadena Nursery School Inc CA$326,868 Director $47,895 $46,660 2025
Morning Glory Enterprises CA$321,433 Ceo Member At Large $75,604 $75,604 2024
Berkeley Hills Parents Association CA$340,360 Exec. Direct $77,439 $77,439 2024
Susan Phillips Day School CA$308,750 Chairman $140,500 $136,878 2025
Redwood Parents Nursery School CA$306,383 Director $38,839 $37,838 2025
The Way Enterprises Inc CA$354,246 Ceo $46,000 $44,814 2025
Live Oak Preschool CA$358,451 Executive Dir. $75,665 $73,715 2025
Glenridge Nursery School CA$361,159 Program Dir $149,326 $149,326 2024
Circle Time Child Development Center Inc CA$291,893 Ceo/director $12,291 $12,654 2023
Chico Oaks Preschool CA$368,209 Treasurer $7,200 $7,200 2024
Broadway Childrens School Of CA$374,497 Director $62,158 $62,158 2024
Empathy In Nature Project Inc CA$376,076 President $150,000 $150,000 2024
The Playplace Elc CA$376,758 President $12,500 $12,500 2024
Valley Parent Preschool CA$381,198 Director $64,700 $63,032 2025
Santa Ynez Valley Outreach Center CA$391,350 Director $14,080 $14,496 2023
Great And Small Inc CA$254,066 Dirctor $17,500 $18,017 2023
Hilltop Nursery School Of Costa Mesa CA$253,479 Director $37,840 $37,840 2024
California Kindergarten Association CA$247,867 President $8,200 $8,442 2023
Discovery Montessori CA$413,675 Executive Di $70,920 $69,092 2025
The Kids Co-op Inc CA$414,819 Executive Dir. $79,875 $79,875 2024
Fullerton Community Nursery School CA$243,626 Director $36,365 $36,365 2024
A Childs Heart Inc CA$241,531 Preschool Director $60,000 $60,000 2024
Agape Educational Center Inc CA$236,971 Cfo $65,860 $65,860 2024
International Education And CA$225,492 Director $25,668 $26,426 2023
Elite Kids Academy CA$440,260 President & Ceo $26,400 $26,400 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 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 default91st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)91st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted91st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted91st

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 (Jon-paul Barkhurst) 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 32 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $102,550 is reasonable (approximately the 91st 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.