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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Trace Academy Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 593398298
FL · NTEE B20Z
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Shari Hepner, Executive Director / CEO ($58,417) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 113 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 81st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Shari Hepner — reported title “HEAD OF SCHO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

113 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 113 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$759 total compensation of comparable organizations → $111,920 $58,417
$7,35310th
$18,49125th
$34,546Median
$50,53775th
$71,55990th
$58,417This org · 81st
p10$7,353
p25$18,491
p50$34,546
p75$50,537
p90$71,559
$58,417

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 FL 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
Academy Christian School Inc SC$198,225 President $38,566 $42,828 2023
St Jude School CA$197,855 Secretary $40,000 $34,792 2025
Parents For Public Schools MS$198,818 Executive Di $30,000 $34,546 2024
Orcas Montessori School WA$197,361 Vice President $45,266 $43,140 2023
Beginning Education And Readiness School OH$199,351 Executive Director $60,760 $66,539 2024
Heritage Christian Academy TN$195,767 President $15,000 $16,303 2024
Masters Christian School WA$201,153 Executive Director $32,971 $30,521 2024
John Paul Ii Polish Supplementary School Of Maspeth Inc NY$202,679 President $6,765 $6,321 2024
Millennium Leadership Christian Academy Inc FL$204,543 Director $46,450 $45,117 2024
Anastasis Academy CO$204,546 Executive Di $38,646 $38,314 2024
Carden Educational Foundation FL$191,520 President & Treasurer $97,195 $97,195 2023
Pumpkin Patch Preschool Inc PA$205,580 Pres./treas. $64,440 $64,730 2025
Machon Schneerson Chabad PA$205,676 President $15,550 $16,033 2024
St Andrews Academy CA$206,194 President $21,024 $19,325 2023
The Little Montessori School TX$206,702 Director $38,305 $39,618 2024
Machias Valley Christian School ME$209,003 Co-chair $2,328 $2,348 2025
Rhema Corporation Inc NC$209,118 President $37,800 $40,384 2024
Mount Hope Christian Academy Inc VA$186,637 Academy Director $32,231 $32,176 2024
Growing In Grace Preparatory School Inc FL$184,084 President $28,858 $28,030 2024
Clearview Sudbury School TX$184,001 President $11,475 $12,219 2023
Bluestem Montessori Elementary NE$183,841 Executive Di $44,862 $48,604 2025
Scholaris Academy Inc TX$212,934 President $19,878 $21,166 2023
Arete Enrichment Academy Inc GA$213,492 Officer - Executive Director $17,786 $18,491 2024
Christian Education League Inc ME$213,726 President $3,819 $4,071 2023
Scientiae Inc FL$182,457 President $781 $759 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to FL 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 FL 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 default81st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)81st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted83rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted80th

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 (Shari Hepner) 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 113 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $58,417 is reasonable (approximately the 81st 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.