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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Shining Mountains Montessori School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 872255699
CO · NTEE B21
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Katie Tilt, Executive Director / CEO ($6,288) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 272 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 4th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Katie Tilt — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

272 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 272 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$574 total compensation of comparable organizations → $151,993 $6,288
$16,57610th
$33,00925th
$45,015Median
$59,16775th
$72,28190th
$6,288This org · 4th
p10$16,576
p25$33,009
p50$45,015
p75$59,167
p90$72,281
$6,288

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
Peopleplace ME$301,936 Executive Director $32,610 $33,077 2024
El Buen Pastor Early Childhood Development Center TX$301,143 Executive Director $43,890 $45,786 2023
Centralia Marys House Ltd IL$301,079 Director & President $560 $574 2023
Community Montessori School OH$303,209 Board Member $1,148 $1,232 2024
Lithuanian Montessori Society Of America IL$300,032 Director $62,000 $63,567 2023
Azalea City Christian School Inc AL$303,559 Director $22,585 $24,716 2024
Childrenz Center IL$299,624 President $41,100 $42,139 2023
Hilltop Preschool Llc VA$303,781 Preschool Director, Ex-officio Boar $30,263 $30,473 2023
Albuquerque Preschool Cooperative NM$299,544 Executive Di $58,614 $63,860 2024
Aauw Nursery School IL$298,990 Executive Director $41,874 $41,701 2024
Norwood Christian Preschool Inc MA$304,996 President $49,701 $44,075 2025
Prince Of Peace Pre School Inc FL$305,490 Preschool Director $44,390 $42,241 2024
Ashmont Nursery School Inc MA$306,025 Executive Di $70,430 $64,110 2024
Redwood Parents Nursery School CA$306,383 Director $38,839 $33,096 2025
Angel Hearts Childcare Ministry 2 Inc IN$296,133 Director $16,500 $18,146 2023
Harmony Day School KY$307,571 Vice President $47,714 $50,588 2025
Escuela Comunitaria Del Bronxbronx NY$295,088 Head Of School $158,880 $145,430 2024
Key West Preschool Co-operative Inc FL$294,788 Director $49,193 $46,813 2024
Susan Phillips Day School CA$308,750 Chairman $140,500 $119,727 2025
Quarry Hill School Inc VT$294,066 Director $47,047 $49,385 2023
Garden Nursery School Inc MA$294,045 Director $77,142 $72,294 2023
Greenbelt Nursery School Inc MD$293,981 Teacherdirector $67,914 $62,658 2025
Village Early Learning Center VT$309,521 Former Program Director $30,240 $30,037 2025
Roots Forest School Inc ID$293,434 Director $18,019 $19,417 2024
My First School NY$293,033 Director $60,000 $56,543 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 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 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 default4th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)4th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted4th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted4th

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 (Katie Tilt) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 272 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $6,288 is reasonable (approximately the 4th 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 10, 2026.