Is it real?
Yes. Exemption reinstated (2016-05-15). Per the IRS revocation list. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jun 2020.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
46 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
8 people listed on the 990; $98K paid to officers and key staff.
Bethany Merkling’s $149K as Principal is at the 15th 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethany Merkling | $148,740 | $155,447 | $98,588 | $97,850 | $95,000 | $74,873 |
| Charity Bray | — | $110,643 | — | — | — | — |
| Heather Fortelka | — | $102,576 | — | — | — | — |
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.
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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
Educates PK-8 students with foundational skills for success, tuition-free.
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Program Service expenses are all costs necessary to operate a PK-8 charter school, acquire school facilities, and service the debt associated with facilities acquisition.
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Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2022 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY22 | End FY22 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $4.8M | $4.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $17.9M | $17.6M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $25.9M | $24.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $35.9M | $32.8M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | −$10.0M | −$8.2M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $98K | $0 | $98K | $0 |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $3.5M | $2.7M | $810K | $0 |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $790K | $606K | $183K | $0 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $272K | $212K | $60K | $0 |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $48K | $36K | $12K | $0 |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $20K | $0 | $20K | $0 |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $55K | $0 | $55K | $0 |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $223K | $169K | $55K | $0 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $16K | $0 | $16K | $0 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $357 | $0 | $357 | $0 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $33K | $0 | $33K | $0 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $1.8M | $0 | $1.8M | $0 |
| TravelLn 17 | $6K | $0 | $6K | $0 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $35K | $26K | $9K | $0 |
| InterestLn 20 | $1.2M | $0 | $1.2M | $0 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $355K | $0 | $355K | $0 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $81K | $0 | $81K | $0 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $680K | $512K | $168K | $0 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $16K | $2K | $14K | $0 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $9.3M | $4.2M | $5.1M | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $12.8M | $12.6M | $195K | −$9.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $12.3M | $11.7M | $573K | −$9.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $10.5M | $10.4M | $135K | −$12.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 Viewing | $9.4M | $9.3M | $87K | −$8.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $8.6M | $8.3M | $259K | −$10.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $7.7M | $7.2M | $501K | −$11.6M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2022 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $9,393,722 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $9,306,289 across 19 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $24,653,762 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$8,157,482 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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