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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Malama Honua Public Charter School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 465734248
HI · NTEE B12
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Denise Espania, Executive Director / CEO ($20,182) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 94 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 17th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

94 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 94 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,137 total compensation of comparable organizations → $225,792 $20,182
$11,82910th
$26,52325th
$55,410Median
$87,07675th
$115,52990th
$20,182This org · 17th
p10$11,829
p25$26,523
p50$55,410
p75$87,076
p90$115,529
$20,182

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 HI 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
Zionsville Education Foundation Inc IN$360,985 Executive Dir. $48,825 $59,208 2023
Waco Isd Education Foundation TX$353,927 Executive Director $79,385 $91,316 2023
Sevier County Partners In Progress TN$353,505 Executive Di $57,174 $69,108 2023
Jacob And Clara Faber Community OH$366,746 President & $129,595 $153,312 2024
Educate2envision International Inc CA$351,294 Executive Dir. $61,589 $59,401 2024
Mission San Juan Bautista CA$348,704 Executive Director $63,000 $60,762 2024
Magnet Educational Choice FL$348,303 Chief Executive Officer $21,760 $23,507 2023
Legacy Scholars MI$344,615 Executive Director $8,583 $9,640 2025
Pamlico Partnership For Children Inc NC$342,286 Executive Director $58,650 $69,686 2023
Gahanna-jefferson Education Foundation OH$380,947 Executive Director $19,986 $23,644 2024
Henry County Prevention Coalition TN$381,568 Director $61,135 $69,925 2025
Walk N Rollers CA$334,697 Executive Director $101,269 $97,672 2024
Associated Builders And Contractors LA$334,677 Executive Director $33,959 $43,000 2023
Dr Alvin R Calman Professorship NJ$384,807 Trustee $79,602 $79,383 2024
Delaware County By5 Early Childhood IN$330,791 Executive Di $95,568 $112,567 2024
Methacton Education Foundation PA$387,676 Executive Director $36,611 $41,983 2023
Mcneil Band Boosters TX$388,412 Treasurer $7,793 $8,482 2025
Foundation For Vision Rehabilitation NY$389,030 President & Ceo $52,008 $51,138 2025
San Joaquin County Office Of Education CA$328,568 President $76,113 $71,517 2025
Angels Touch Inc GA$389,933 President $30,000 $34,687 2023
Middle School Of The Arts Foundation FL$390,429 Executive Director $116,403 $118,991 2025
Erats Thiel Building Company MN$391,746 Treasurer $66,725 $73,642 2024
African Conservation Centre Us CO$325,707 Scrty/execut $39,600 $42,412 2024
Kalamazoo Experiential Learning MI$392,689 President & $51,731 $59,639 2024
Howard Co Public Schools Education Fndn MD$399,896 Executive Director $67,250 $72,298 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to HI 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 HI 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 default17th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted85th

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 (Denise Espania) 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 94 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B12), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $20,182 is reasonable (approximately the 17th 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.