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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Friends-montessori School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 931963036
NC · NTEE B20
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cara Beth Brackins, Executive Director / CEO ($59,229) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 260 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 65th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Cara Beth Brackins — 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

260 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 260 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$157 total compensation of comparable organizations → $174,027 $59,229
$8,44610th
$24,40825th
$41,931Median
$68,92475th
$89,82290th
$59,229This org · 65th
p10$8,446
p25$24,408
p50$41,931
p75$68,924
p90$89,822
$59,229

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 NC 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
International School Of Djibouti MN$401,059 Board Member $6,189 $5,919 2025
Cambridge Math Circle Inc MA$399,548 President, Executive Director $122,917 $109,727 2024
Coeur Academy MO$399,150 Director Of Education $83,598 $85,693 2025
Matthew House Az Inc AZ$402,796 Executive Director $27,750 $27,296 2023
World Language Initiative Mt MT$397,765 Executive Dir. $70,000 $73,027 2025
Chesterton Academy Of St James CA$397,328 Member $108,428 $95,758 2023
Tgs Foundation ME$403,900 Executive Director $21,600 $21,487 2024
Arrow Preparatory Academy WA$396,196 Secretary $1,840 $1,684 2023
Friends Of Forensics CA$405,788 Executive Director $5,000 $4,289 2024
The Kineo School WA$394,154 President & Teacher $56,250 $50,029 2024
Lag Academy MS$391,574 Director $45,923 $50,810 2024
Maidee Smith Early Care & Learning GA$409,707 Center Direc $29,299 $29,265 2024
Italian School Nj Inc NJ$410,774 President $50,700 $43,810 2025
Team Steam Nation Inc AZ$390,250 Chief Executive $63,000 $60,190 2024
Highland Free Charter School AZ$411,854 President & Ceo $67,542 $62,866 2025
The Cross Christian Academy Inc DE$412,624 President $28,800 $28,014 2024
Ivy League Christian Academy VA$387,935 Chairman $40,600 $40,093 2023
Livingston Huaxia Chinese School NJ$387,855 Principal $9,737 $8,892 2023
Metropolitan Detroit Bureau Of School Studiesinc MI$414,021 Executive Director $138,900 $138,753 2025
Dominion Equippers Inc TX$386,263 Pres $8,500 $8,447 2024
Destiny Christian Academy TX$416,116 Principal $36,000 $35,774 2024
Huaxia Chinese School At Great Valley PA$384,668 Principal $5,000 $5,100 2023
Communities In Schools Of NC$416,635 President And Ceo $10,990 $11,281 2024
Shalom Christian Academy And Daycare MO$384,306 Secretary $111,363 $117,173 2024
World Builders Academy MO$417,807 President $14,583 $15,797 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default65th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)65th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (Cara Beth Brackins) 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 260 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $59,229 is reasonable (approximately the 65th 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.