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Date of Graduation
Spring 2016
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
School of Strategic Leadership Studies
Advisor(s)
Karen A. Ford
Margaret F. Sloan
William Ritchie
Abstract
Private school leaders face financial sustainability challenges as competition for students and money increases. This study aims to identify financial metrics which school leaders can use for monitoring and guiding their school’s financial health. IRS Form 990 provided the financial data for calculating predictors of interest. The study evaluated data from 2009–2013 for five groupings of schools, as measured by operational size. The study included 1029 private schools after removing outliers and cases with missing data. Private school leaders helped define the dependent variable as the ratio of total revenue/total expense. Sustainable schools carried an averaged five-year ratio of greater than one and the vulnerable school ratio averaged less than one. A standard multiple regression modeled significant predictors from a pool of nine independent variables. The Mark Up variable consistently explained most of the unique variance between vulnerable and sustainable schools in every school group. The research developed a composite score model with benchmarks for school leaders to assess their school’s financial sustainability. The study also raised questions for subsequent research on private school financial sustainability.
Recommended Citation
Leaman, Paul G., "Predictors of private school sustainability using IRS form 990" (2016). Dissertations, 2014-2019. 103.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/diss201019/103
Included in
Educational Leadership Commons, Education Economics Commons, Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration Commons, Finance and Financial Management Commons
