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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ignite Classical School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 832476882
LA · NTEE B30
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Adia Garrick Wells, Executive Director / CEO ($4,251) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 46 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 2nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Adia Garrick Wells — reported title “Head of School”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

46 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 46 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,554 total compensation of comparable organizations → $183,332 $4,251
$13,81810th
$27,21625th
$53,992Median
$94,63775th
$124,83890th
$4,251This org · 2nd
p10$13,818
p25$27,216
p50$53,992
p75$94,637
p90$124,838
$4,251

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 LA 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
Pullman Tech Workshop IL$268,572 Officer $24,333 $21,725 2024
Colorado Bioscience Institute CO$266,856 President $9,942 $8,658 2024
Ed3 Galaxy NY$266,626 Vice President $30,006 $25,351 2023
Alliance For Technology Education In TX$271,735 Executive Director $72,047 $67,383 2023
Iron Workers Local 33 Apprentice NY$272,440 Coordinator $88,438 $72,575 2024
Rebound A Building Trades Organization WA$259,519 Executive Dir. $154,773 $129,560 2023
Wellness Council Of Wisconsin Inc WI$279,775 Executive Director $101,900 $96,646 2024
American Organ Academy OH$279,822 Chairman/dir $185,131 $183,332 2023
Cherry Hill Huaxia Chinese School NJ$280,262 Principal $13,680 $11,092 2024
Judge Dinkins Educational Center TN$281,490 President & Ceo $130,000 $124,097 2024
Association Of Accredited Naturopathic DC$283,366 Executive Director - Non-voting $122,808 $97,870 2024
Cocal Gracias AZ$253,446 President And Director $46,548 $40,655 2024
New Horizons Foundation - A Sheet VA$250,660 Director $97,707 $85,676 2024
Insulators Local Union #89 - Jatc Accoun NJ$288,308 Trustee $109,282 $88,610 2024
Puget Sound Boilermakers App & Trn Trust WA$245,030 Trust Coordinator $137,813 $115,362 2023
Ironworkers Local 6 Training Fund NY$292,083 Administrato $12,656 $10,386 2024
Hastings Foundation For MS$240,000 President $62,000 $64,562 2023
Waterloo Joint Apprenticeship IA$299,592 Training Dir $32,255 $32,073 2024
The Daruby School MO$235,114 Executive Director $21,000 $20,199 2024
Simply Circus Corp MA$231,254 General Manager $60,275 $49,189 2024
Latino Learning Center Inc TX$231,223 President & $57,500 $53,778 2023
Vermont Center For Integrative VT$308,334 Executive Director $40,810 $37,304 2024
Nj Guard Training Academy Inc NJ$228,420 Amaral $37,500 $31,305 2023
Workforce Technician Education Center CA$227,920 Chief Community Officer $31,800 $24,937 2024
Vehicles For Change San Diego Inc CA$310,145 Executive Director $86,539 $69,868 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to LA 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 LA 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 default2nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)2nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted11th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted2nd

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 (Adia Garrick Wells) 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 46 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $4,251 is reasonable (approximately the 2nd 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.