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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Bluestem Montessori Elementary

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 812288371
NE · NTEE B20
FY ending 2025-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Laura M Roberts, Executive Director / CEO ($44,862) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 96 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 73rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Laura M Roberts — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

96 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 96 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$700 total compensation of comparable organizations → $103,305 $44,862
$7,62310th
$15,53725th
$31,672Median
$46,91975th
$66,00290th
$44,862This org · 73rd
p10$7,623
p25$15,537
p50$31,672
p75$46,919
p90$66,002
$44,862

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 NE 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
Clearview Sudbury School TX$184,001 President $11,475 $11,279 2023
Growing In Grace Preparatory School Inc FL$184,084 President $28,858 $25,873 2024
Scientiae Inc FL$182,457 President $781 $700 2024
Mount Hope Christian Academy Inc VA$186,637 Academy Director $32,231 $29,700 2024
Long Island Traditions Inc NY$179,816 Executive Director $44,923 $38,741 2024
Carden Educational Foundation FL$191,520 President & Treasurer $97,195 $89,713 2023
The Greenhouse Schoolinc MA$173,484 Executive Di $6,300 $5,563 2023
Heritage Christian Academy TN$195,767 President $15,000 $15,047 2024
Orcas Montessori School WA$197,361 Vice President $45,266 $39,819 2023
Asa Christian Academy FL$170,116 Executive Director $42,000 $38,767 2023
St Jude School CA$197,855 Secretary $40,000 $32,114 2025
Trace Academy Inc FL$198,199 Head Of Scho $58,417 $53,920 2023
Academy Christian School Inc SC$198,225 President $38,566 $39,532 2023
Parents For Public Schools MS$198,818 Executive Di $30,000 $31,887 2024
Beginning Education And Readiness School OH$199,351 Executive Director $60,760 $61,417 2024
Masters Christian School WA$201,153 Executive Director $32,971 $28,171 2024
John Paul Ii Polish Supplementary School Of Maspeth Inc NY$202,679 President $6,765 $5,834 2024
Trinity Learning Center MO$164,589 Director $22,050 $22,288 2024
Virginia Association Of Science VA$164,234 Executive Director $40,000 $36,858 2024
Millennium Leadership Christian Academy Inc FL$204,543 Director $46,450 $41,644 2024
Anastasis Academy CO$204,546 Executive Di $38,646 $35,366 2024
Pumpkin Patch Preschool Inc PA$205,580 Pres./treas. $64,440 $59,747 2025
Machon Schneerson Chabad PA$205,676 President $15,550 $14,799 2024
St Andrews Academy CA$206,194 President $21,024 $17,838 2023
The Little Montessori School TX$206,702 Director $38,305 $36,567 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NE 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 NE 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 default73rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)69th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted72nd

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 (Laura M Roberts) 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 96 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $44,862 is reasonable (approximately the 73rd 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.