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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cornerstone Community School Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 874206679
KS · NTEE B20
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Madeline Herrera, Executive Director / CEO ($33,327) 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 33rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Madeline Herrera — 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

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

Distribution of comparable compensation

$150 total compensation of comparable organizations → $166,445 $33,327
$8,62710th
$26,64825th
$42,717Median
$69,86175th
$85,59990th
$33,327This org · 33rd
p10$8,627
p25$26,648
p50$42,717
p75$69,861
p90$85,599
$33,327

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 KS 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
Cor Deo Christian Academy OR$431,689 Principal Director $93,037 $82,091 2024
Morning Glory Montessori School CA$434,705 President $187,650 $153,955 2024
Pathway Academy NM$434,930 Principal $69,008 $72,603 2023
Woodside School And Community MA$429,686 President $46,640 $39,821 2024
Southside Academy Incorporated NC$429,521 Secretary $55,710 $54,692 2024
Alexandria Classical Christian VA$436,415 Headmaster $34,854 $31,975 2024
Splendor Bilingual Montessori School NJ$428,488 Secretary $48,474 $41,121 2024
Windsor Street Montessori School MO$436,941 President $24,000 $23,529 2025
Sheltering Tree Ranch Inc TN$437,675 Vice-president $22,375 $23,006 2023
Global Connection Academy OH$427,339 Board Member $65,000 $65,412 2024
Chesterton Academy Of Rochester NY$438,015 Board Member $39,183 $33,641 2024
The Education Foundation Of Indian River FL$438,310 Executive Director $81,462 $74,858 2023
Sweet Tree Arts ME$426,649 Executive Di $35,846 $34,104 2024
Diamante Montessori School IL$422,764 President $8,000 $7,473 2024
Tyler Ind School District Foundation TX$422,347 Executive Director $82,014 $77,948 2024
Ft Caroline Baptist Academy FL$421,929 Academy Director $74,700 $66,675 2024
Selle Valley Carden School Inc ID$421,690 Director/teach $32,000 $33,299 2023
Foothills Christian School WA$444,133 Member $8,000 $6,806 2024
Urban Christian Academy IL$420,892 Executive Di $12,000 $11,540 2023
Axiom Christian Classical School NM$444,326 President, Dean Of Athletics & Activities $25,000 $26,302 2023
East Providence Education Association RI$444,361 President $9,696 $8,606 2025
Community Homeschool Education Center Inc FL$420,200 Marler $45,880 $42,161 2023
Touchstones Discussion Project Inc MD$444,972 Executive Di $95,306 $87,159 2023
Excellence In Education CA$445,380 Executive Dir. $81,999 $67,275 2024
Spirit At Play Inc MT$446,640 Executive Dir. $56,569 $57,937 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KS 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 KS 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 default33rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)32nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted34th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted32nd

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 (Madeline Herrera) 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 272 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $33,327 is reasonable (approximately the 33rd 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.