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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Arkansas Head Start Association Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 582194485
AR · NTEE B21
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jacqualine Govan, Executive Director / CEO ($82,063) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 258 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 96th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

258 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 258 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$490 total compensation of comparable organizations → $129,658 $82,063
$13,51110th
$28,22025th
$37,684Median
$48,99375th
$59,83190th
$82,063This org · 96th
p10$13,511
p25$28,220
p50$37,684
p75$48,993
p90$59,831
$82,063

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 AR 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
Trojan Learning Center Inc SD$277,172 Business Director $26,336 $25,858 2023
Lauderhill Community Child Care Cen FL$277,908 Directortreasurer $18,900 $17,760 2021
Still Water Montessori School Inc SC$275,930 President $36,200 $32,633 2024
Children's Center Of North Harford Inc MD$279,270 Executive Director $59,941 $48,424 2024
Whitefish Community School MT$280,200 Executive Di $56,336 $51,122 2025
Baby Bees Childcare Center Inc OR$280,249 Director $7,000 $5,617 2024
Westville Community Nursery School Inc CT$274,120 Director $63,895 $53,297 2023
The Preschool On The Green Inc NH$273,762 Executive Di $59,189 $46,009 2025
College Heights Kindergarten Inc NM$281,245 President $21,154 $19,661 2024
Big-little School OR$281,462 Executive Director $39,007 $31,302 2024
Whittier Wildflowers Preschool Inc MN$281,488 Board, Presc $59,622 $50,908 2024
Marshall First Step Academy IL$282,176 Executive Director $16,146 $14,122 2023
Tinton Falls Cooperative Preschool NJ$272,353 President, Director, Head $52,657 $40,626 2024
Family Preschool Inc NC$282,519 Director $25,946 $23,850 2023
Rockville Presbyterian Cooperative Nursery School MD$282,742 Program Director $28,000 $22,038 2025
Circle School NY$283,012 Executive Director $51,829 $41,666 2023
Creative Preschool Inc OH$271,452 Tepe $40,885 $37,419 2024
Wee Care Children's Enrichment NC$284,275 Executive Director $54,562 $47,461 2025
Boyds Organization For Youth Development Services Inc MD$269,960 Director $61,700 $49,846 2024
Bright Spot Child Care Inc PA$269,958 Director $44,170 $38,063 2024
Kingdom Kids Christian Academy42693 MI$284,873 Director $42,844 $40,955 2022
Little Friends Preschool WA$268,967 President $67,221 $52,005 2024
Shelburne Nursery School VT$268,432 Executive Dir. $38,335 $32,482 2025
Oregon Preschool Inc WI$286,714 Co-director/teacher $60,811 $54,879 2024
Spring Hill School Inc VT$287,189 Program Director $60,499 $54,174 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AR 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 AR 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 default96th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)95th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted96th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted96th

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 (Jacqualine Govan) 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 258 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $82,063 is reasonable (approximately the 96th 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.