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

The Learning Well

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 473286957
WA · NTEE B24
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karen Gallie, Executive Director / CEO ($31,717) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 107 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 29th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Karen Gallie — reported title “DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

107 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 107 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,963 total compensation of comparable organizations → $178,127 $31,717
$14,56610th
$26,85825th
$45,085Median
$59,80875th
$76,07790th
$31,717This org · 29th
p10$14,566
p25$26,858
p50$45,085
p75$59,808
p90$76,077
$31,717

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 WA 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
St Sophia Classical Academy Foundation OK$302,320 President $4,553 $5,298 2025
Cape Cod Christian Academy Inc MA$297,994 Executive Di $47,400 $46,210 2024
Quality Education Institute Of Durham Inc Q E I D NC$302,989 Principal $36,000 $40,355 2024
Kingston Montessori Academy TX$303,350 President $35,000 $39,105 2023
Mid Cities Christian Academy TX$294,632 Director $42,000 $46,926 2023
Trinity Classical Academy MS$307,601 Head Of School $8,167 $10,160 2023
Magnolia Montessori KY$290,390 President $26,308 $30,664 2024
Birch School Inc NY$311,558 Executive Di $62,250 $61,026 2024
Copeland Run Academy PA$288,066 Director $41,538 $44,939 2024
Rochester Classical Academy NY$313,821 Head Of School $50,000 $50,465 2023
Gardenview Montessori School WA$314,374 Director $54,819 $53,246 2024
Brite Bringing Relief International FL$285,994 Trustee $16,154 $16,464 2024
Big Leaf Montessori WA$314,984 Head Of Scho $35,395 $35,395 2023
Reach Academy Inc FL$317,631 Director $55,814 $55,417 2025
Mercy Prepratory Academy TX$319,962 Founder $20,833 $23,276 2023
Bloom Community School Inc IL$280,544 Board Member $62,738 $66,915 2024
Aurora School VT$322,056 President $38,136 $40,570 2025
Great River Montessori Inc WI$322,872 Secretary Co-founder $55,328 $64,539 2023
Maranatha Academy Inc WI$323,010 Administratortrustee $32,011 $36,270 2024
Capitol Hill Academy UT$276,029 Officer $39,000 $44,583 2023
Down To Earth Nonprofit OR$326,089 Executive Director $48,583 $48,947 2024
Eddlemon Child Development Center SC$274,329 Cdc Director $40,755 $47,489 2023
Cambria School Of Excellence Inc NY$327,723 Director $24,000 $23,528 2024
Mandarin Academy CA$269,316 Vice President And Lead Teacher $113,420 $106,252 2024
Cabot Christian School AR$268,929 President $2,250 $2,743 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default29th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)30th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted34th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted29th

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 (Karen Gallie) 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 107 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $31,717 is reasonable (approximately the 29th 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.