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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Zion Academy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 881485340
UT · NTEE B25
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Timothy Arnold, Executive Director / CEO ($51,391) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 48 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 54th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Timothy Arnold — reported title “Teacher”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

48 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 48 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,489 total compensation of comparable organizations → $109,472 $51,391
$17,35410th
$30,57625th
$46,454Median
$65,92875th
$85,51690th
$51,391This org · 54th
p10$17,354
p25$30,576
p50$46,454
p75$65,928
p90$85,516
$51,391

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 UT 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
Jewish Teen Learning Connectioninc CT$342,599 Executive Di $84,276 $74,990 2024
Kinetic Bridges MO$355,361 Exec Dir Of Education $17,136 $17,224 2024
Hx Chinese School At Plainsboro NJ$358,021 Trustee $4,000 $3,489 2023
Saint Andrews Academy Inc KY$321,409 Secretary $31,250 $31,041 2025
The Bridge Avenue School OH$319,490 Teacher $40,365 $39,527 2025
Unlimited Dreams Christian Learning Center MS$314,000 Administrator/executive Director $33,000 $35,911 2023
Lotts Creek Community School KY$375,955 President $24,480 $25,697 2023
Commonwealth Christian Academy Inc VA$308,169 President $19,000 $17,410 2024
Banner Learning Corp FL$379,328 President/director $68,604 $61,163 2024
Be Academy Of Steam TN$305,946 Principal $65,000 $64,841 2024
Questa Middle School Inc FL$296,242 President $66,078 $58,911 2024
Oldham County Athletic Boosters Inc KY$295,877 Treasurer $4,800 $4,894 2024
Career Tech High School OR$287,163 Executive Director $25,012 $22,695 2023
Concordia Academy-wichita KS$283,423 Headmaster $90,000 $92,275 2024
The Patrick School Inc NJ$403,755 President $45,000 $38,130 2024
Mesivta Meromei Tzvi Inc NJ$403,891 President $84,200 $71,345 2024
North Branch School Inc VT$406,253 Board Treasurer $48,631 $46,454 2024
Doing Art Together Inc NY$279,391 Creative Director $61,200 $54,033 2023
Saint Sophia Hellenic Orthodox School UT$411,669 Director $88,059 $85,533 2024
Pleasant Ridge Christian Academy Inc FL$273,043 Director Of Operations $17,308 $15,430 2024
Gold Star Private Academy Inc FL$414,915 Co-founder/i $53,484 $46,454 2025
Rural Education And Workforce Alliance KS$270,521 Member $103,710 $109,472 2023
Fiat Classical Academy Inc IN$418,197 President $68,250 $66,544 2025
Insight Colearning Center NC$268,088 Executive Director $60,000 $60,574 2023
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Academy Inc TX$265,390 Head Of School $86,592 $80,085 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to UT 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 UT 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 default54th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)52nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted58th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted48th

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 (Timothy Arnold) 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 48 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B25), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $51,391 is reasonable (approximately the 54th 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.