Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 2008.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
81 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
11 people listed on the 990; $237K paid to officers and key staff.
Chad Cullers’s $122K as Assistant Principal is at the 7th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3683 $10–100M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 7 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cullen McDowell | — | $141,279 | $132,781 | $127,986 | $153,810 | $105,657 |
| Christianna Fogler | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Chad Cullers | $121,935 | $96,120 | — | — | — | — |
| John E Ballew | — | — | $120,049 | — | — | — |
| John Ballew | $109,619 | — | — | $100,951 | — | — |
| Tam Smith | $106,309 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Clay Traylor | $67,060 | — | — | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See Rocky Mountain Classical Academy executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Programs and updates
Operates a public, nonreligious school under Colorado's Charter Schools Act.
Questions for Rocky Mountain Classical Academy
Your first name shows with your question. Rocky Mountain Classical Academy answers here, for everyone.
Organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $6.5M | $7.2M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $47K | $146K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $9.8M | $12.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $14.1M | $16.6M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | −$4.3M | −$3.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $463K | $370K | $93K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $6.1M | $4.9M | $1.2M | |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $1.7M | $1.4M | $343K | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $720K | $576K | $144K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $144K | $115K | $29K | |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $46K | $46K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $203K | $203K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $67K | $50K | $17K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $42K | $31K | $10K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $58K | $44K | $15K | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $337K | $253K | $84K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $3.4M | $2.6M | $854K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $146K | $117K | $29K | |
| InterestLn 20 | $3K | $2K | $676 | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $29K | $22K | $7K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $138K | $103K | $34K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $4.2M | $3.8M | $318K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $880K | $754K | $126K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $18.7M | $15.1M | $3.6M | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 7, 2026 | $19.8M | $18.7M | $1.1M | −$2.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 14, 2024 | $19.2M | $18.7M | $544K | −$3.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Apr 5, 2024 | $16.0M | $16.3M | −$282K | −$4.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Feb 17, 2023 | $14.4M | $10.6M | $3.8M | −$4.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Jan 15, 2022 | $13.3M | $9.7M | $3.5M | −$7.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Apr 22, 2021 | $12.3M | $12.7M | −$486K | −$17.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2019Filed with the IRS Apr 22, 2021 | $12.4M | $12.8M | −$437K | −$16.9M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $19,249,224 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 7 of 7 board members independent, 2 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $19,249,224 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $18,705,211 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $12,892,042 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$3,723,518 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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