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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Palm Tree Academy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 830392659
TX · NTEE B21
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nichole C Orozco, Executive Director / CEO ($25,832) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 125 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 23rd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Nichole C Orozco — reported title “SCHOOL PRINCIPAL”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

125 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 125 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2 total compensation of comparable organizations → $119,378 $25,832
$12,53410th
$29,68425th
$41,539Median
$52,95175th
$64,75090th
$25,832This org · 23rd
p10$12,534
p25$29,684
p50$41,539
p75$52,951
p90$64,750
$25,832

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 TX 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
Center Preschool Inc CT$184,473 Pres $127,361 $119,378 2024
Montessori Center Of Pearl Harbor HI$188,250 Director/teacher Rep. $73,350 $65,650 2024
Foundation For The Liveliness KY$188,459 President And Director Of $42,875 $46,049 2024
Spring-mar Preschool Association Inc VA$182,611 School Director $31,106 $29,251 2025
Kidz Clubhouse ND$181,028 Director $4,042 $4,434 2024
Keys Montessori School Inc PA$190,969 President $46,937 $48,174 2023
First Christian Church Youth AR$192,862 Executive Di $27,500 $30,902 2024
Milford Cooperative Nursery School MI$196,484 Former Director $35,769 $37,999 2023
Caring Branches Early Care And PA$196,777 Executive Di $2,984 $2,975 2024
Ganeinu CO$197,571 President $47,760 $45,782 2024
East Hanover Cooperative Nursery School NJ$197,980 Director $42,207 $37,672 2024
St Paul's Church Nursery School Inc MA$173,456 Executive Director & Head Teacher $73,987 $66,465 2024
Francis Kiddie Kollege Preschool Inc CA$199,112 Executive Director $41,017 $36,453 2023
Trinity Day School Of Newtown Inc CT$200,254 Director $47,840 $44,841 2024
Norwood Cooperative Nursery School Inc MA$200,772 Executive Director $50,164 $45,064 2024
Covenant Community School Inc NC$170,857 Director $48,462 $51,537 2023
Westside Early Education IA$203,309 Director, Teacher $41,151 $43,882 2025
First Steps Preschool OH$203,672 Preschool Director $36,965 $39,139 2024
The Big Barn Preschool IL$205,060 President $9,965 $9,794 2024
Silverspot Nursery School CA$205,277 Teacher/director $79,177 $70,367 2023
Midsouth Montessori Center TN$205,520 Executive Director $69,500 $71,149 2025
Sunshine School Inc MA$205,523 President $56,920 $49,815 2025
Kirkland Preschool WA$164,337 President $9,660 $8,901 2023
Little Scholars Academy GA$207,501 Executive Dir. $42,350 $42,569 2024
Buttons & Bows Nursery School Inc IL$207,947 President/teach $33,813 $32,375 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default23rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)23rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted25th
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 (Nichole C Orozco) 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 125 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $25,832 is reasonable (approximately the 23rd 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.