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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

State Street Academy Of Music At St Lawrence

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 571169971
PA · NTEE A6E
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cindy Noyes, Executive Director / CEO ($4,520) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 42 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 2nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Cindy Noyes — reported title “TREASURER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

42 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 42 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,178 total compensation of comparable organizations → $220,617 $4,520
$14,12210th
$30,09425th
$46,153Median
$62,56675th
$81,91590th
$4,520This org · 2nd
p10$14,122
p25$30,094
p50$46,153
p75$62,566
p90$81,915
$4,520

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 PA 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
The Community Music School Of The VA$310,390 Executive Director $62,500 $62,115 2024
Performing Arts School Of Worcester Inc MA$310,983 Executive Director $72,189 $68,744 2023
Gaston School Of The Arts NC$311,220 Executive Di $36,302 $38,608 2024
Music In Schools Today CA$312,240 Executive Dir. $105,900 $94,125 2024
Ormao Dance Company Inc CO$294,195 Exe/artistic $34,600 $34,149 2024
Crystal Theatre Inc CT$313,678 President, Artistic Director $29,140 $28,953 2023
Kapena School Of Music HI$290,575 Executive Dir. $3,350 $3,178 2023
Alma NM$285,234 Outreach Dir $14,000 $15,499 2024
Junior Chamber Music CA$281,240 Director $14,800 $13,155 2024
Resonance Vocal Ensemble OR$279,404 Secretary $11,063 $10,302 2025
Shubanjali School Of Performing Arts NJ$269,769 President $86,667 $82,000 2023
Nebraska Music Education NE$338,431 Executive Di $56,650 $62,716 2024
The Ballet School Of Stamford CT$265,615 Executive Dir. $70,000 $65,815 2025
Flying Gravity Circus Inc NH$345,186 Exec Director/trustee $53,000 $50,372 2024
Suffolk County Music Educators NY$261,461 Treasurer $6,000 $5,581 2024
Aerial Dance Chicago IL$259,429 Board Member / Artistic Director $55,200 $57,508 2023
Community School Of The Arts TN$253,244 Executive Director $80,738 $87,354 2024
Youth Inspirations Theatre IN$250,899 President $47,371 $51,419 2024
Balmoral School Of Highland Piping PA$250,031 Exec Directo $35,000 $35,926 2024
Girls Write Nashville TN$249,272 Pres. & E.d. $75,000 $81,145 2024
The Music Academy PA$242,962 Director $32,984 $33,857 2024
Sacramento Preparatory Music Academy CA$234,926 Ceo $52,000 $47,583 2023
American Dance Institute NY$231,550 Executive Director $230,390 $220,617 2023
Bandwagon Institute For The Arts HI$230,121 President $27,665 $26,248 2023
Ali Akbar College Of Music CA$377,532 President $39,386 $36,040 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA cost of living and 2025 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 PA 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 default2nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)2nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted2nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted2nd

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 (Cindy Noyes) 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 42 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A6E), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $4,520 is reasonable (approximately the 2nd 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.