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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Grace Christian Academy St Louis

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 834588278
MO · NTEE B20
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lauren Shelnutt, Executive Director / CEO ($37,440) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 255 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 50th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

255 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 255 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$148 total compensation of comparable organizations → $152,986 $37,440
$7,50710th
$20,53825th
$37,588Median
$62,73375th
$84,93690th
$37,440This org · 50th
p10$7,507
p25$20,538
p50$37,588
p75$62,733
p90$84,936
$37,440

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 MO 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
Graceview Academy Of St Cloud FL$360,831 Ceo $11,234 $9,964 2024
Agia Sophia Academy OR$360,441 Principal $44,460 $40,133 2023
King's Academy TX$360,086 Head Of School $99,146 $96,404 2023
Pacem School Inc VT$361,754 Head Of School $54,852 $50,783 2025
Erie County Association Of School Boards NY$362,373 Executive Director $69,888 $58,089 2025
Jewell School AZ$358,641 Officer/trea $35,750 $33,420 2023
Vision 2020 Education Foundation MN$357,509 President/treasurer $14,286 $13,721 2023
Scholars Christian Preschool And Academy Inc FL$355,881 Executive Director $78,000 $69,183 2024
Grace Preparatory Academy Of Greater MA$354,941 President $175 $148 2024
Genesis Ministries FL$354,766 President $33,000 $29,270 2024
Moorhead Legacy Education Foundation MN$367,977 Executive Director $12,000 $11,195 2024
Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation Inc GA$353,321 Executive Director $27,250 $26,633 2023
Titus Christian Prep School Inc KY$368,296 Head Of School $50,000 $50,718 2024
Montessori School Of Peoria IL$368,353 President $48,600 $46,444 2023
Boise Classical Academy Inc ID$352,443 President $32,278 $33,376 2023
Saint Ambrose Academy PA$369,386 President And Treasurer $45,000 $41,277 2025
In Situ Explorers NC$369,440 President $69,872 $68,164 2024
The Helping House TX$370,185 Teacher/director $73,327 $71,299 2023
Deep Roots School Inc NJ$351,162 Treasurer $47,981 $39,404 2025
Journey School Of Houston TX$350,685 Clinical Director Vice Chair $44,155 $41,702 2024
Lincoln Heights Tutorial Program CA$350,503 Exec. Director $75,000 $61,146 2024
Creating Hope Inc OH$349,714 Director $4,800 $4,800 2024
Valor Classical Christian Academy Inc WI$349,030 34 Grade Teacher $9,120 $8,761 2025
Interlocking Ministries Inc NC$348,910 Executive Di $87,078 $84,950 2024
Providence Christian School WA$348,332 Board $4,564 $3,972 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MO 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 MO 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 default50th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)45th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted51st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted48th

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 Shelnutt) 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 255 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $37,440 is reasonable (approximately the 50th 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.