South Buffalo Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161586423
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone
7168267213
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,881,896
Expenses
$13,402,557
Assets
$40,286,927
Liabilities
$1,715,538

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRISTOPHER SCHAFER (PRESIDENT)
  • ANNE MARIE TRYJANKOWSKI (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID EHRLE (SUPERINTENDENT): $200,225 total reported compensation
  • DAVID THOMAS (PRINCIPAL): $120,650 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINE PETRIE KENDRICK (BUSINESS MANAGER): $103,368 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

South buffalo charter school provides elementary education to students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. We are a professional learning community. Our focus on learning is driven by research, data and collaborative reflection to increase student achievement.

What it reported doing in 2024

Providing equitable opportunities for all students to acquire an education that links character education with rigorous academics, technology and careers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. No material rating questions were generated from the available inputs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.5%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 89.4%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.6%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.01; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.5% of revenue deployed · 89.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $200K · 9 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.