St. Mark's School of Texas 
The information in this column was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 9/13/2021. To update the information in this column, please email: info@ministrywatch.com
Summary
St. Mark's School of Texas is a nonsectarian, college-preparatory, independent day school for boys in grades one through twelve. The School's charter states that it is "designed to afford its students well-rounded physical, intellectual, moral, and religious training and instruction." The School is intended to be a diverse community of teachers and students who share a love of learning and who strive for high achievement in whatever they undertake.
Contact information
Mailing address:
St. Mark's School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, TX 75230
Website: smtexas.org
Phone: 214-346-8000
Email: cardend@smtexas.org
Organization details
EIN: 750827460
CEO/President: David W. Dini
Chairman: Katherine R. Crow
Board size: 49
Founder: M.B. and Ada Terrill
Ruling year: 1952
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 06/30
Member of ECFA: No
Member of ECFA since:
Purpose
St. Mark's Statement of Purpose:
St. Mark's School of Texas is a nonsectarian, college preparatory independent day school for boys in grades 1-12. The Charter states that the school is "designed to afford its students well-rounded physical, intellectual, moral, and religious training and instruction." The St. Mark's Board of Trustees intends for the school to be a diverse community of teachers and students who share a love of learning and who strive for high achievement in whatever they undertake.
Challenging studies in the Sciences, Arts, and Humanities form the basis of a St. Mark's education. Teachers work to instill an enthusiasm for learning, to encourage independent and critical judgment, and to demonstrate the methods for making sound inquiries and for effective communication. To complement this academic experience, St. Mark's offers boys a rich variety of opportunities for involvement and leadership in the school community and on its playing fields, to realize their potential, rewarding those who strive as well as those who achieve.
St. Mark's aims to prepare young men for assuming leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world. To this end, the school professes and upholds certain values. These values include the discipline of postponing immediate gratification in the interest of earning eventual, hard-won satisfaction; the responsibility of defending one's own ideas, of respecting the views of others, and of accepting the consequences for one's own actions; and an appreciation for the lively connection between knowledge and responsibility, privilege and the obligation to serve.
Mission statement
Statement of faith
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
D
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: K-12 Schools/Academies
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 932 of 1022 | 40 of 40 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 755 of 1024 | 33 of 40 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 957 of 1024 | 37 of 40 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 687 of 1022 | 32 of 40 |
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 13% | 34% | 16% | 15% | 7% | 16% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 3% | 4% | 5% | 4% | 4% | 5% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 13% | 12% | 31% | 28% | 48% | 29% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 3% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 87% | 88% | 69% | 72% | 52% | 71% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 82% | 64% | 77% | 62% | 66% | 63% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 96% | 82% | 89% | 88% | 64% | 90% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 77% | 52% | 68% | 55% | 42% | 57% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 4% | 18% | 11% | 12% | 36% | 10% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 4% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 8% | 2% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 15% | 31% | 18% | 33% | 28% | 32% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.42 | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.16 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 3.12 | 1.57 | 1.63 | 1.54 | 1.45 | 1.61 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.49 | 0.21 | 0.23 | 0.22 | 0.20 | 0.25 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 3.10 | 5.71 | 5.73 | 7.51 | 8.56 | 7.85 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.32 | 0.18 | 0.17 | 0.13 | 0.12 | 0.13 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 4.06 | 46.41 | 44.01 | 47.13 | 53.37 | 41.71 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 40% | 12% | 12% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 14% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 158% | 647% | 638% | 629% | 658% | 579% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Cash | $32,229,061 | $27,885,728 | $40,474,318 | $42,569,917 | $35,238,323 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $26,373,781 | $22,409,963 | $16,147,970 | $19,660,283 | $15,260,044 |
| Short-term investments | $116,440,309 | $113,132,136 | $108,588,239 | $106,485,208 | $81,069,435 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $175,043,151 | $163,427,827 | $165,210,527 | $168,715,408 | $131,567,802 |
| Long-term investments | $18,408,310 | $23,538,192 | $23,791,327 | $22,556,074 | $29,634,010 |
| Fixed assets | $80,746,389 | $78,382,716 | $64,976,821 | $51,797,199 | $49,800,869 |
| Other long-term assets | $1,167,673 | $1,201,395 | $1,067,741 | $980,731 | $822,002 |
| Total long-term assets | $100,322,372 | $103,122,303 | $89,835,889 | $75,334,004 | $80,256,881 |
| Total assets | $275,365,523 | $266,550,130 | $255,046,416 | $244,049,412 | $211,824,683 |
| Liabilities | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $5,386,998 | $4,180,193 | $6,476,637 | $4,029,309 | $3,269,103 |
| Other current liabilities | $25,270,224 | $24,362,557 | $15,525,083 | $15,686,396 | $13,485,784 |
| Total current liabilities | $30,657,222 | $28,542,750 | $22,001,720 | $19,715,705 | $16,754,887 |
| Debt | $3,047,118 | $3,280,879 | $3,510,537 | $3,734,298 | $3,953,060 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $3,047,118 | $3,280,879 | $3,510,537 | $3,734,298 | $3,953,060 |
| Total liabilities | $33,704,340 | $31,823,629 | $25,512,257 | $23,450,003 | $20,707,947 |
| Net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Without donor restrictions | $98,180,924 | $85,527,898 | $62,115,273 | $50,096,123 | $46,999,147 |
| With donor restrictions | $143,480,259 | $149,198,603 | $167,418,886 | $170,503,286 | $144,117,589 |
| Net assets | $241,661,183 | $234,726,501 | $229,534,159 | $220,599,409 | $191,116,736 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Total contributions | $5,532,748 | $12,674,845 | $11,849,243 | $24,895,545 | $10,661,447 |
| Program service revenue | $24,184,803 | $23,177,791 | $22,336,615 | $21,220,107 | $20,284,307 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $4,074,846 | $4,969,020 | $6,837,884 | $5,166,287 | $4,964,054 |
| Other revenue | $11,893,910 | $598,529 | $627,930 | $844,558 | $754,450 |
| Total other revenue | $40,153,559 | $28,745,340 | $29,802,429 | $27,230,952 | $26,002,811 |
| Total revenue | $45,686,307 | $41,420,185 | $41,651,672 | $52,126,497 | $36,664,258 |
| Expenses | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Program services | $23,889,356 | $28,282,074 | $22,719,704 | $22,128,427 | $20,753,471 |
| Management and general | $11,579,916 | $6,523,315 | $12,000,967 | $9,539,309 | $10,566,101 |
| Fundraising | $1,867,765 | $1,974,304 | $1,743,381 | $1,833,337 | $1,708,435 |
| Total expenses | $37,337,037 | $36,779,693 | $36,464,052 | $33,501,073 | $33,028,007 |
| Change in net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $8,349,270 | $4,640,492 | $5,187,620 | $18,625,424 | $3,636,251 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $8,349,270 | $4,640,492 | $5,187,620 | $18,625,424 | $3,636,251 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| David Dini | Headmaster | $704,950 |
| John Ashton | Associate Headmaster | $410,523 |
| Suzanne Townsend | Chief Financial Officer | $333,184 |
| John S Jolly | Sr. Director Leadership Gi | $208,581 |
| James Womack | Director of Development | $203,125 |
| Dean Clayman | Head of Middle School | $190,409 |
| Mark Webb | Director of Physical Plant | $185,291 |
| James E Windlinger Jr | Controller | $175,616 |
Compensation data as of: 6/30/2020
Response from ministry
No response has been provided by this ministry.
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 9/13/2021. To update the information below, please email: info@ministrywatch.com
History
St. Mark's proudly builds upon a rich heritage of scholarship and excellence in education that dates back nearly to the turn of the century. In 1906, Mr. M.B. Terrill, fresh out of Yale University, came to Dallas, a city of over 70,000 citizens, and established the prestigious Terrill School for Boys, which served both day and boarding students through classes so small, and professor-student relationships so supportive, that teachers almost assumed the role of private tutors and top achievement was assured.
In 1913, at Mr. Terrill's urging, Ela Hockaday moved to Dallas and opened the Hockaday School for Girls. The Hockaday campus on Haskell and the Terrill campus at Peak and Swiss backed up to one another with a simple fence in between. In 1946, Terrill School became The Cathedral School, which in turn merged in 1950 with Texas Country Day School, founded in 1933, to form St. Mark's School of Texas.
Impressive facilities such as the planetarium, observatory, and greenhouse once inspired Time magazine to call St. Mark's the "best equipped day school in the country." In the sixties and seventies, the School established a financial aid program and initiated innovative teaching methods within the classical curriculum where appropriate. During the eighties, the Board of Trustees developed a forward-looking strategic plan called Goals for St. Mark's which resulted in dramatic modernization of the School's physical plant and substantial growth of its endowment.
Today the School continues its tradition of excellence serving more than 900 boys and their families.
Timeline
1906 - Menter B. Terrill and his wife Ada establish The Terrill School on the principles of providing rigorous academic preparation and strict discipline for boys.
1933 - The parents of Menter Terrill's former students join together to establish Texas Country Day School.
1946 - The Terrill School reopens as Cathedral School for Boys.
1950 - Cathedral School for Boys and Texas Country Day merge to form St. Mark's School of Texas.
1961 - The McDermott-Green Science & Mathematics Quadrangle opens to national acclaim.
1972 - Ninth graders embark on the first annual Pecos Wilderness Trip, a 12-day hiking excursion that continues to this day.
1977 - Donors establish the first fully-endowed Master Teaching Chair.
1988 - The Terrill School is recognized as the original predecessor school of St. Mark's.
2006 - The School celebrates its Centennial Year.
2013 - The Centennial Challenge capital campaign successfully concludes, surpassing its goal of $110 million.
2017 - St. Mark's launches Goals for St. Mark's IV, a strategic plan that will serve as a road map for the future.
2019 - The Winn Science Center and McDermott-Green Science Building open, ushering in a new era of science education at St. Mark's.