Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cornerstone Christian Schools Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 820488252
ID · NTEE B20Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lynn Ridinger, Executive Director / CEO ($34,708) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 277 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 34th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Lynn Ridinger — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

277 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 277 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$148 total compensation of comparable organizations → $164,677 $34,708
$9,44910th
$26,51725th
$46,403Median
$69,76875th
$85,40990th
$34,708This org · 34th
p10$9,449
p25$26,517
p50$46,403
p75$69,768
p90$85,409
$34,708

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 ID 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
Foundation For Pottstown Education PA$454,654 Executive Di $101,439 $92,641 2025
Banner Of Faith Ministries Inc TX$453,467 President $24,000 $22,568 2024
Anthem Classical Academy AR$453,466 Head Of School $33,588 $36,539 2023
Family Health Ministries Inc NC$451,760 Former Executive Director $72,000 $69,934 2024
Star Christian School CA$456,867 President $30,700 $25,656 2023
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy OH$457,299 Admin Repres $11,127 $11,406 2023
Cambridge School Volunteers Inc MA$450,938 Executive Director $96,934 $79,772 2025
Springfield Christian School WA$450,316 Chairman $44,467 $37,424 2024
Gainesville Preparatory School Inc GA$449,991 Vice Preside $41,913 $40,786 2023
Yucca Blossom Montessori TX$448,028 President $31,154 $30,160 2023
Pure In Heart Christian Academy & FL$461,442 President $27,200 $24,020 2024
Spirit At Play Inc MT$446,640 Executive Dir. $56,569 $57,322 2024
Pentathlon Institute Inc IN$462,122 National Director $96,499 $95,662 2024
Chess And Strategy Game Association MN$462,253 Associate Di $90,623 $86,663 2023
Prew Academy Of Sarasota Inc FL$462,414 Dir/principal $102,170 $92,891 2023
Sea-king District Of The Washington Interscholastic Activities Assn WA$462,852 Sea-king District Director $44,325 $36,343 2025
Excellence In Education CA$445,380 Executive Dir. $81,999 $66,560 2024
French-american School Of Norfolk VA$463,262 Director $62,447 $56,680 2024
Touchstones Discussion Project Inc MD$444,972 Executive Di $95,306 $86,233 2023
East Providence Education Association RI$444,361 President $9,696 $8,514 2025
Axiom Christian Classical School NM$444,326 President, Dean Of Athletics & Activities $25,000 $26,023 2023
Trinity Simone Christian Preparatory Academy Inc FL$464,072 President $42,000 $37,090 2024
Foothills Christian School WA$444,133 Member $8,000 $6,733 2024
Friends Of Gantry Plaza State Park Inc NY$466,105 Executive Director $99,900 $84,859 2024
University Montessori School VA$466,888 Head Of School $61,298 $57,281 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ID 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 ID 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 default34th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)32nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted35th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted33rd

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 (Lynn Ridinger) 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 277 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $34,708 is reasonable (approximately the 34th 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.