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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Learning Ladder Preschool

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 884366427
MO · NTEE B21
FY ending 2025-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Heather Davis, Executive Director / CEO ($39,224) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 306 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 32nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Heather Davis — reported title “SCHOOL DIREC”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

306 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 306 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$335 total compensation of comparable organizations → $145,415 $39,224
$18,04910th
$35,56025th
$46,962Median
$61,02775th
$83,88490th
$39,224This org · 32nd
p10$18,049
p25$35,560
p50$46,962
p75$61,027
p90$83,884
$39,224

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 MO 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
Empathy In Nature Project Inc CA$376,076 President $150,000 $125,527 2024
The Growing Place Inc NY$376,497 Director Non-voting Member $61,572 $53,921 2024
Whole Child Learning Co VT$375,021 School Director $16,913 $16,497 2024
The Playplace Elc CA$376,758 President $12,500 $10,461 2024
Broadway Childrens School Of CA$374,497 Director $62,158 $52,017 2024
Bright Beginnings WA$377,379 Secretary $9,000 $8,040 2023
Guanghua Chinese Cultural Association PA$374,017 Principal $5,700 $5,509 2024
Hancock Nursery School Inc MA$372,688 Executive Di $57,753 $48,999 2025
Green Bay Montessori Childrens World WI$372,013 Treasurer $58,000 $58,704 2024
Stepping Stones Learning Center TX$379,604 Employee $43,499 $42,169 2024
Wilbraham Community Preschool MA$380,140 President $65,958 $57,441 2024
Hampshire Nursery School Inc NH$370,668 Assistant Director $48,257 $42,070 2025
Valley Parent Preschool CA$381,198 Director $64,700 $52,748 2025
Fieldstone Early Learning MA$382,370 President $70,012 $59,400 2025
Canguros Inc FL$382,902 President $45,604 $41,519 2024
Penfield Village Nursery School Inc NY$368,547 Education Director $44,520 $37,983 2025
Florida Head Start Association FL$368,376 Executive Director $119,411 $108,714 2024
Chico Oaks Preschool CA$368,209 Treasurer $7,200 $6,026 2024
4corners Community Nursery Inc MD$367,697 Executive Director $39,980 $36,224 2024
Mendon Community Nursery School NY$367,557 Executive Direc $23,939 $20,424 2025
Ark Adventure Preschool Inc TX$384,336 Director $59,915 $56,586 2025
Parents Of Rockhill Inc MA$384,487 Vice Princip $46,939 $42,085 2023
The Childrens Institute At Jericho Inc VT$366,602 Director $67,332 $65,679 2024
Christ Our Savior Academy Inc TN$366,200 Director $63,430 $66,524 2023
Childrens Center Inc CT$365,688 President, Director $61,669 $56,037 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MO 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 MO 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 default32nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)29th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted33rd
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 (Heather Davis) 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 306 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $39,224 is reasonable (approximately the 32nd 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.