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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ascend Micro School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 834131810
CO · NTEE B20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lauren Yacht, Executive Director / CEO ($25,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 161 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 35th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Lauren Yacht — reported title “Board member”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

161 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 161 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$765 total compensation of comparable organizations → $113,456 $25,000
$6,37510th
$18,17725th
$36,867Median
$56,59275th
$74,60390th
$25,000This org · 35th
p10$6,375
p25$18,177
p50$36,867
p75$56,592
p90$74,603
$25,000

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 CO 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
Path Educational Initiatives AZ$235,948 Director $72,000 $72,214 2024
Asp2 Steam Academy Inc Nfp IL$236,055 Director $13,270 $13,605 2024
Laramie Christian Academy WY$234,512 Principal $18,819 $21,016 2024
Akaula School HI$236,825 Staff Director/middle School Principal $70,000 $67,290 2023
Potters Hand Christian School TX$233,592 Administrator $9,433 $10,132 2023
Empowered SD$233,316 Executive Di $29,867 $34,376 2024
Affirm Leadership Christian Academy Inc IL$233,168 President $75,000 $79,167 2023
Montessori Farm School Inc NC$237,988 Head Of Scho $63,014 $67,902 2024
Congregation B'nai Emet Preschool CA$238,683 Secretary $50,134 $45,147 2024
Northvale Preschool NJ$238,745 Pre-k3 Teach $34,601 $32,218 2024
Christian Cottage Prep TX$239,363 Head Of School $42,600 $44,441 2024
Dayspring Montessori School IL$231,503 President Secretary And Tre $110,105 $112,888 2024
Mesa Christian Academy Inc AZ$240,338 President / Ceo $23,500 $23,570 2024
Berean Christian Academy Inc ID$241,320 President $52,800 $57,067 2025
Mesquite Christian Academy Inc NV$229,787 Principal $30,000 $31,361 2024
Logos Classical Academy LA$241,518 President $60,585 $67,780 2025
Roman Avery Academy OH$241,765 Secretary $36,250 $39,009 2025
Tift County Foundation GA$229,338 Executive Di $55,563 $56,762 2025
Highland Montessori School TX$242,439 Executive Director And Property Owner $76,879 $78,133 2025
Every Kids A Genius Inc FL$228,660 President, Dir. $30,000 $30,259 2023
Quartzsite Southern Christian Academy AZ$227,630 Treasurer $3,383 $3,306 2025
Lords Kingdom Academy Inc FL$227,205 President $21,950 $21,505 2024
Columbus Classical Christian School OH$244,916 Board Member & Teacher $12,053 $13,313 2024
Ashland Schools Foundation OR$246,090 Executive Director $77,231 $74,797 2024
The Northwest Florida Academy Inc FL$224,775 President $52,500 $52,954 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default35th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)35th
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 (Lauren Yacht) 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 161 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $25,000 is reasonable (approximately the 35th 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.