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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Kineo School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 811801162
WA · NTEE B20
FY ending 2024-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jodi Gaertner, Executive Director / CEO ($56,250) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 259 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 58th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jodi Gaertner — reported title “PRESIDENT & TEACHER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

259 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 259 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$176 total compensation of comparable organizations → $195,666 $56,250
$9,49610th
$26,70825th
$46,106Median
$77,04775th
$100,67890th
$56,250This org · 58th
p10$9,496
p25$26,708
p50$46,106
p75$77,047
p90$100,678
$56,250

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
Arrow Preparatory Academy WA$396,196 Secretary $1,840 $1,894 2023
Lag Academy MS$391,574 Director $45,923 $57,128 2024
Chesterton Academy Of St James CA$397,328 Member $108,428 $107,665 2023
World Language Initiative Mt MT$397,765 Executive Dir. $70,000 $82,107 2025
Team Steam Nation Inc AZ$390,250 Chief Executive $63,000 $67,674 2024
Coeur Academy MO$399,150 Director Of Education $83,598 $96,348 2025
Cambridge Math Circle Inc MA$399,548 President, Executive Director $122,917 $123,371 2024
Ivy League Christian Academy VA$387,935 Chairman $40,600 $45,078 2023
Livingston Huaxia Chinese School NJ$387,855 Principal $9,737 $9,997 2023
Friends-montessori School NC$400,557 Director $59,229 $66,593 2025
International School Of Djibouti MN$401,059 Board Member $6,189 $6,654 2025
Dominion Equippers Inc TX$386,263 Pres $8,500 $9,497 2024
Matthew House Az Inc AZ$402,796 Executive Director $27,750 $30,689 2023
Huaxia Chinese School At Great Valley PA$384,668 Principal $5,000 $5,734 2023
Tgs Foundation ME$403,900 Executive Director $21,600 $24,158 2024
Shalom Christian Academy And Daycare MO$384,306 Secretary $111,363 $131,743 2024
Enrich Kids Now GA$383,289 Executive Director $27,210 $31,461 2023
Classical Studies Of Central Indiana IN$382,673 Executive Director $13,783 $15,816 2025
Friends Of Forensics CA$405,788 Executive Director $5,000 $4,822 2024
Feat Of Southern Nevada NV$382,327 Executive Dir. $73,350 $82,122 2024
Auburn Teacher's Association NY$381,885 President $7,500 $7,375 2025
Educational Services Corpus Christi Corp PR$380,940 Principal $26,600 $26,600 2024
Maidee Smith Early Care & Learning GA$409,707 Center Direc $29,299 $32,905 2024
Cornerstone Christian Academy NY$378,306 Chairman $41,115 $41,497 2024
Italian School Nj Inc NJ$410,774 President $50,700 $49,257 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 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 default58th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted59th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted56th

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 (Jodi Gaertner) 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 259 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $56,250 is reasonable (approximately the 58th 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.