Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 2006.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 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
10 people listed on the 990; $431K paid to officers and key staff.
Mardele S Early’s $244K as Founding CEO is at the 51st 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mardele S Early | $243,866 | $207,253 | $200,201 | $199,645 | $199,352 | $198,856 |
| Ryan Derousselle | $132,375 | $120,082 | $119,036 | — | — | — |
| Robert M Bell IV | — | — | — | — | $116,426 | $121,353 |
| Bernell St Cyr | $119,617 | $113,982 | $112,668 | $111,740 | $111,567 | $111,269 |
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 Lake Forest Elementary Charter School 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 15aYes
Programs and updates
Provides elementary education for students.
Questions for Lake Forest Elementary Charter School
Your first name shows with your question. Lake Forest Elementary Charter School answers here, for everyone.
Lake forest elementary charter school's primary program service is the education of students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Enrollment for 2019-2020 was 660. The school's focal point is high student achievement, by offering a program that includes research-based curriculum and data driven instruction.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Federal money
Plus 2 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 1 smaller program.
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 2 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 2 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $5.4M | $6.3M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $873K | $819K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $6.4M | $7.3M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $148K | $1.2M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $6.2M | $6.1M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $434K | $118K | $316K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $4.0M | $3.6M | $377K | |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $1.0M | $813K | $212K | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $435K | $387K | $48K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $105K | $91K | $13K | |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $21K | $21K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $21K | $21K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $175K | $70K | $104K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $144K | $144K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $60K | $60K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $160K | $93K | $67K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $923K | $555K | $367K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $234K | $198K | $36K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $7.7M | $6.2M | $1.6M | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 1, 2026 | $10.2M | $10.2M | $3K | $7.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Jul 22, 2025 | $10.7M | $9.3M | $1.5M | $7.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS May 15, 2024 | $8.4M | $8.7M | −$358K | $5.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS May 15, 2023 | $8.1M | $8.9M | −$864K | $5.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS May 6, 2022 | $8.4M | $7.8M | $643K | $6.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Mar 11, 2021 | $7.6M | $7.7M | −$126K | $6.1M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $7,621,542 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 7 of 7 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $7,621,542 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $7,747,266 across 13 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $7,303,388 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $6,098,323 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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