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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Knox Forest School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 821887611
TN · NTEE B20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sara Otis, Executive Director / CEO ($55,720) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 210 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sara Otis — reported title “Director and Board President”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

210 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 210 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$150 total compensation of comparable organizations → $132,878 $55,720
$6,23710th
$15,88325th
$34,909Median
$55,10575th
$71,88190th
$55,720This org · 75th
p10$6,237
p25$15,883
p50$34,909
p75$55,105
p90$71,881
$55,720

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 TN 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
Expatriate Education International IN$284,021 President & Ceo $14,400 $14,447 2024
Annette Mains Ministries Inc IN$285,821 Elem Ed Dire $62,400 $62,603 2024
Homeschool Christian Academy Inc MO$283,095 Executive Director $41,400 $40,641 2025
Florida Academy Of Excellence FL$287,206 President Chief Academic Officer $7,500 $6,703 2024
Old Believerprivate School AK$282,002 Secretary $21,230 $19,309 2024
Eureka Educational Academy Inc FL$281,527 Vice Preside $4,000 $3,680 2023
Academy Of Rome And Cartersville Inc GA$281,328 Director $20,308 $20,000 2023
Kinderhaus CA$281,015 President $79,346 $65,182 2024
Philly Agile Learning Community PA$280,886 President/secretary, Principal $68,828 $67,227 2023
Christian Hope Academy Inc SC$279,675 President $21,525 $20,813 2025
Ohio Christian Academy Inc OH$290,417 President $23,083 $23,259 2024
Austin Japanese School Inc TX$290,647 Administration $7,570 $7,018 2025
Preparatory School Of The District Of Columbia Inc DC$291,686 Executive Director $45,346 $38,974 2023
Kings Way NY$292,461 Director Of Business $43,095 $36,092 2025
James Squadrito Montessori School PA$276,807 Ceo $10,000 $9,242 2025
Escuela Aurora Inc PR$292,982 President $31,040 $31,957 2023
Crescent Montessori School Inc CA$276,291 Director/lea $113,448 $90,795 2025
Daufuskie Island Independent School SC$276,012 Principal/teacher $55,000 $53,180 2025
Kids College CA$275,925 Executive Dir. $43,200 $35,488 2024
Brandywine School Of Early Learning PA$274,117 President $25,000 $23,718 2024
Randolph Education Association Inc MA$295,784 President $7,000 $5,830 2025
Saint Francis Classical Academy Inc FL$271,537 Director (President), Headmaster And Teacher $42,520 $37,021 2025
Chesterton Foundation Of St George MI$270,930 Vice President $93,000 $94,019 2023
Dry Fork Christian School Inc VA$298,615 President $36,603 $33,622 2024
Arecibo Baseball Academy Inc PR$299,223 President $31,050 $31,050 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 TN 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)73rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted78th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted73rd

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 (Sara Otis) 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 210 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $55,720 is reasonable (approximately the 75th 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.