Idyllwild Arts Academy

Idyllwild Arts Academy is burning the cushion faster than the 8-month buffer suggests. Expenses are outpacing revenue 10.7% vs 0.4% per year over three years, and the latest operating margin is -34.8% on a 94% tuition-dependent revenue mix. Covering the deficit at today's rate, reserves would last roughly 22 more months — the full budget, by contrast, is covered for about 8 months if every revenue line stopped. The board conversation here is the recovery plan for the residential model and the timeline to break-even. NACUBO Composite Financial Index: 0.5 / 10, re-engineer.

Idyllwild Arts Academy operates at 94% tuition dependency — among the most tuition-reliant 3% of peers in its cohort. A soft admissions year would flow straight to operations.

Idyllwild Arts Academy reported $25.6M in revenue against $34.5M in expenses in fiscal year 2023, the most recent filing on record. Net assets stood at $22.0M — about 0.64x annual operating expense.

Operating margin landed at -34.8%, with 93.8% of revenue coming from tuition. Among same-size peers, that puts Idyllwild Arts Academy at the p3 on operating margin.