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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Deep Waters Academy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 853670476
TX · NTEE B20
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Amelia Chiara, Executive Director / CEO ($15,490) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 17 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 24th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Amelia Chiara — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

17 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 17 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$7,570 total compensation of comparable organizations → $104,775 $15,490
$9,47110th
$15,91025th
$39,318Median
$45,32375th
$77,12390th
$15,490This org · 24th
p10$9,471
p25$15,910
p50$39,318
p75$45,323
p90$77,123
$15,490

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 TX 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
Central Texas Education Center TX$264,163 President $41,266 $42,358 2024
Veritas Montessori Academy TX$259,856 Director $15,500 $15,910 2024
Highland Montessori School TX$242,439 Executive Director And Property Owner $76,879 $76,879 2025
Austin Japanese School Inc TX$290,647 Administration $7,570 $7,570 2025
Christian Cottage Prep TX$239,363 Head Of School $42,600 $43,727 2024
Potters Hand Christian School TX$233,592 Administrator $9,433 $9,969 2023
Saint Francis Montessori Christian TX$301,529 Director $39,900 $40,956 2024
Noggin Educational Foundation TX$221,391 President $50,000 $51,323 2024
Scholaris Academy Inc TX$212,934 President $19,878 $21,007 2023
Michelle Davis TX$320,000 Ceo $25,421 $26,864 2023
The Little Montessori School TX$206,702 Director $38,305 $39,318 2024
Nci Community Fund Inc TX$329,491 President $16,924 $17,885 2023
Clearview Sudbury School TX$184,001 President $11,475 $12,127 2023
Journey School Of Houston TX$350,685 Clinical Director Vice Chair $44,155 $45,323 2024
King's Academy TX$360,086 Head Of School $99,146 $104,775 2023
The Helping House TX$370,185 Teacher/director $73,327 $77,490 2023
Dominion Equippers Inc TX$386,263 Pres $8,500 $8,725 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX cost of living and 2025 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 TX 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 default24th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)24th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted29th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted24th

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 (Amelia Chiara) 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 17 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20) + TX + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $15,490 is reasonable (approximately the 24th 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.