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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Highland Children's House

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 833645078
VA · NTEE P33
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Callie S Smith, Executive Director / CEO ($45,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 331 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: Callie S Smith — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

331 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 331 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$267 total compensation of comparable organizations → $396,047 $45,500
$17,49510th
$36,78925th
$54,878Median
$68,35175th
$86,44090th
$45,500This org · 34th
p10$17,495
p25$36,789
p50$54,878
p75$68,351
p90$86,440
$45,500

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 VA 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
Kids Corner Child Care & Learning C IA$395,849 Executive Di $39,922 $46,609 2023
Berry Tender Childcare Inc IA$395,492 Executive Director $41,518 $48,472 2023
Chaffee County Childcare CO$397,719 Executive Director $43,000 $45,767 2022
Roseland Christian Preschool FL$397,733 Preschool Di $54,060 $51,242 2025
Morning Star Education Center CA$397,907 President $720 $644 2024
Next To Parents Daycare Center Inc LA$399,532 President $48,000 $56,358 2023
Gps Kids Club KS$399,815 Director $29,690 $33,220 2024
Abc 123 Human Resources Inc TX$392,115 President $21,946 $22,736 2024
Leap Of Faith Ministries Inc IN$391,533 President $2,900 $3,167 2024
Great Beginnings Preschool & Child TX$390,852 Executive Director $31,200 $32,323 2024
Tracy Kids World MN$402,253 President $15,600 $15,965 2024
Growing In Gods Love Childcare MT$404,123 Director $66,409 $74,140 2024
Orleans After School Activities MA$388,272 Executive Di $93,263 $86,798 2024
St Andrews Preschool And Day Care AZ$404,717 Preschool Director $56,853 $56,628 2024
Millbrook Early Childhood Education NY$387,466 Executive Director $72,519 $67,869 2024
Tlc Child Care Inc NJ$386,732 Trustee $21,182 $19,587 2024
Davenport Child Care Inc MA$406,019 Program Dire $55,199 $52,890 2023
Tesoritos Daycare & Learning Center Inc PR$406,231 President $33,348 $34,333 2023
Big Bird Daycare Inc AL$386,395 Director $1,500 $1,728 2023
Come And See Preschool & After School CA$385,895 President $99,000 $86,255 2025
Caroline Asp Inc NY$407,102 Director $69,304 $64,860 2024
Norton Area Childcare Association KS$385,600 Director $37,600 $43,313 2023
Mechanicsburg Learning Center PA$407,373 Executive Di $15,163 $16,123 2023
Morning Star Child Care CO$384,967 Director $54,893 $56,124 2023
Early Steps Learning Foundation MN$384,953 Executive Director $43,660 $46,001 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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)38th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted34th
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 (Callie S Smith) 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 331 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $45,500 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.