Efficiency is being defined as the percentage of a dollar donated to Spark that ends up being granted to LCMSD. These figures are provided in Spark's federal tax filings, which can be viewed both at the IRS website and here at ProPublica. I have provided the historical calculations, derived from Spark's Form 990 filings, in the Letter 1 appendix, which can be viewed here. Below is a chart depicting Spark's Efficiency levels each year since 2009. The easiest way to think about this is that Spark can do two things with the money it receives as donations: i) give it to the kids; or ii) spend it on salaries and other operational items. The chart below shows that unfortunately we have seen a substantial increase in the percentage of each dollar Spark receives being spent on the latter. The vast majority of this non-kids' spending has been tied to insider compensation. Since Ms. Ryba joined the foundation in 2014, the amount of money per each $1 in donations that goes to the kids has plummeted from 95 cents to 74 cents.

Spark's current Efficiency levels don't just compare poorly to its historical performance. There also appears substantial opportunity to improve Spark's Efficiency when compared to peer nonprofits.

If we can get it back to 95 cents, the kids would get an extra $3.3 million to fund art, science and wellness over the next ten years. The stakes are high, and the opportunity is big.

But so far Spark has termed Efficiency as we discuss it above as "irrelevant" (in an email from Director Jaime Heaps to me on Oct. 19th) and labeled the above math as allegations that “make no real world sense and have no basis in fact”. Yet, the figures' basis are Spark's very own tax filings, and the relevance of nonprofit Efficiency is both intuitive and well-established (here called a Program % at Charity Watch). Spark leadership has made no acknowledgements that the current cost structure is excessive nor any commitments to improving Efficiency going forward. To accomplish real change and ensure more donations benefit the kids, the community will need to speak up. Sign the petition today and let Spark know you care.

Spark's financial figures required restatement after attention was raised to a number of irregularities and discrepancies. Unlike a number of neighboring school district nonprofits, these figures are not audited. Mistakes happen, and that is not a problem. The next step is to reinstill trust in the new figures via an audit so that we can all trust the latest figures and move forward. In addition, there have been a number of behaviors that I believe to have been intentionally deceptive and evasive.

Concerning Facts and Behaviors:

• Sara Ryba misstating her 2020 compensation as zero on a tax filing after stating a nonzero figure in each of prior five years' filings and then Spark refusing to provide an updated figure for 135 days after my initial request
• Spark lawyer lying to me about Ryba 2020 compensation and then ceasing communications.
• Spark's refusal to provide bylaws due to "strategic planning" for 99 days
• Spark not promptly acknowledging existence of PPP loans when asked by Mr. Marotto. The next email he received on the matter was Spark finding Mr. Marotto's questions without merit and "ceasing communications." Spark leadership did finally acknowledge the existence of these loans 19 days later, right before the first IJ article came out.
• Dr. Geithman labelling my calls for Spark to follow the law as "not productive" and electing to take no substantive action to address the actual issues
• Dr. Geithman pretending I have received Ryba's 2020 compensation figure to request I drop the PRA for emails (including his)
• Dr. Geithman seemingly trying to inflate my PRA count and district legal expenses to elicit community outrage from this email response to his ParentSquare message here. It is of course also highly unusual and inappropriate for him to solicit community pressure for me to withdraw a PRA request before fulfilling it when that request asks for his own emails in part.

While I don't know the motive behind the above, I do assume there is a "why" and it raises uncomfortable questions. In particular, with respect to the 2020 Ryba compensation figure being misstated as zero on a Spark federal tax filing she signed under penalty of perjury, the explanation being offered that it was merely "an accident" simply doesn't hold water. If it was an accident, the correct figure would have been promptly provided once I identified the mistake to her. But it wasn't for 135 days, despite this data point being easily accessible to Spark insiders via historical payroll and W-2 / 1099 records that Ms. Ryba would have needed to receive to file her own income taxes. This is not normal and it doesn't make sense. I am particularly uncomfortable with the fact that she first stated her compensation as zero (after correctly stating a nonzero figure the prior five years) in the same year that the PPP loans were taken out and not reported by Spark (until Mr. Marotto and myself discovered Small Business Association records online and called attention to the matter). I also think we need to know if Spark is amending or reissuing W-2 / 1099 forms for Ms. Ryba for any of the years where she initially stated her compensation to be zero, and, if so, what her previously reported compensation was in the prior forms as well.

It is critical that Spark leadership change course and embrace transparency to most effectively move on from the merited skepticism these past behaviors have drawn, and there is no faster or better way to do that than to accept calls for an audit to bolster trust in its recently restated financial figures. We now need an audit to verify that Spark is worthy of our trust as we are asked to give. The good news is that this audit can be done with volunteers (I have offered to serve alongside two community members of Spark's choosing) for free.

Your voice matters. Despite my efforts, Spark and Dr. Geithman have yet to prioritize improved transparency and Efficiency. This current status quo isn't acceptable. Enhanced Efficiency means more resources for our children. Greater transparency ensures that donors can confidently contribute, knowing their hard-earned donations will be used wisely. By investing in a stronger Spark, we directly support our kids. Give your voice; our collective strength is the only way we will drive change. Sign the petition today and let Spark leadership know you care.