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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Upgrade Media Arts Schools Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 853225572
WI · NTEE B25
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dr Tequila Kurth Phd, Executive Director / CEO ($149,243) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 58 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 98th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Dr Tequila Kurth Phd — reported title “CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

58 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 58 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,322 total compensation of comparable organizations → $157,003 $149,243
$14,52610th
$33,93025th
$52,741Median
$65,06575th
$83,80590th
$149,243This org · 98th
p10$14,526
p25$33,930
p50$52,741
p75$65,065
p90$83,805
$149,243

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 WI 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
Arete Academy MN$556,089 Director $63,994 $60,547 2023
Risalah School Of Excellence WA$538,322 President $7,754 $6,290 2025
The Rwanda School Project CA$534,874 School Director $35,342 $28,383 2024
Christian Montessori Academy Inc OK$567,293 Director Of School $50,386 $51,600 2024
Chesterton Academy Of Saint John The Evangelist VA$525,924 Headmaster $75,000 $65,614 2025
🔒 53 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI cost of living and 2023 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 WI 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 default98th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)98th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted98th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted97th

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:

Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation

🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 58-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

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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.