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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Highland Free Charter School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 860988737
AZ · NTEE B20
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Teresa A Rodriguez, Executive Director / CEO ($67,542) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 264 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 68th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Teresa A Rodriguez — reported title “President & CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

264 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 264 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$168 total compensation of comparable organizations → $186,973 $67,542
$9,58710th
$26,39025th
$45,961Median
$75,76775th
$96,29590th
$67,542This org · 68th
p10$9,587
p25$26,390
p50$45,961
p75$75,767
p90$96,295
$67,542

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 AZ 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
The Cross Christian Academy Inc DE$412,624 President $28,800 $30,098 2024
Italian School Nj Inc NJ$410,774 President $50,700 $47,069 2025
Maidee Smith Early Care & Learning GA$409,707 Center Direc $29,299 $31,442 2024
Metropolitan Detroit Bureau Of School Studiesinc MI$414,021 Executive Director $138,900 $149,074 2025
Destiny Christian Academy TX$416,116 Principal $36,000 $38,436 2024
Communities In Schools Of NC$416,635 President And Ceo $10,990 $12,120 2024
World Builders Academy MO$417,807 President $14,583 $16,972 2023
Friends Of Forensics CA$405,788 Executive Director $5,000 $4,608 2024
Tgs Foundation ME$403,900 Executive Director $21,600 $23,085 2024
Community Homeschool Education Center Inc FL$420,200 Marler $45,880 $47,361 2023
Urban Christian Academy IL$420,892 Executive Di $12,000 $12,963 2023
Matthew House Az Inc AZ$402,796 Executive Director $27,750 $29,326 2023
Selle Valley Carden School Inc ID$421,690 Director/teach $32,000 $37,406 2023
Ft Caroline Baptist Academy FL$421,929 Academy Director $74,700 $74,898 2024
Tyler Ind School District Foundation TX$422,347 Executive Director $82,014 $87,562 2024
International School Of Djibouti MN$401,059 Board Member $6,189 $6,359 2025
Diamante Montessori School IL$422,764 President $8,000 $8,395 2024
Friends-montessori School NC$400,557 Director $59,229 $63,635 2025
Cambridge Math Circle Inc MA$399,548 President, Executive Director $122,917 $117,890 2024
Coeur Academy MO$399,150 Director Of Education $83,598 $92,067 2025
World Language Initiative Mt MT$397,765 Executive Dir. $70,000 $78,459 2025
Chesterton Academy Of St James CA$397,328 Member $108,428 $102,881 2023
Sweet Tree Arts ME$426,649 Executive Di $35,846 $38,310 2024
Global Connection Academy OH$427,339 Board Member $65,000 $73,479 2024
Arrow Preparatory Academy WA$396,196 Secretary $1,840 $1,810 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AZ 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 AZ 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 default68th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)71st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted69th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted66th

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 (Teresa A Rodriguez) 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 264 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $67,542 is reasonable (approximately the 68th 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.