The Montclair Cooperative School

The Montclair Cooperative School is burning the cushion faster than the 5-month buffer suggests. Expenses are outpacing revenue 9.3% vs 2.5% per year over three years, and the latest operating margin is -6.2% on a 90% tuition-dependent revenue mix. Covering the deficit at today's rate, reserves would last roughly 6.5 more years — the full budget, by contrast, is covered for about 5 months if every revenue line stopped. The board conversation here is the recovery plan for the operating model and the timeline to break-even. NACUBO Composite Financial Index: -0.7 / 10, distressed.

The Montclair Cooperative School holds only 5 months of operating expense in reserve — a thin runway that warrants understanding before walking into a campus visit.

The Montclair Cooperative School reported $3.7M in revenue against $3.9M in expenses in fiscal year 2023, the most recent filing on record. Net assets stood at $1.6M — about 0.40x annual operating expense.

Operating margin landed at -6.2%, with 89.6% of revenue coming from tuition. Among same-size peers, that puts The Montclair Cooperative School at the p17 on operating margin.