The Massachusetts Foundation for Learning Disabilities
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 043099610
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Westfield, MA, USA
- Phone
- 4135629500
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Specialized Education Institutions
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,721,464
- Expenses
- $3,275,753
- Assets
- $5,486,885
- Liabilities
- $1,689,212
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARTIN PION PHD (PRESIDENT/CLERK/DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- JODY MICHALSKI (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $143,224 total reported compensation
- JANINE ROSS (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $142,275 total reported compensation
- DAVID DRAKE (TREASURER/DIRECTOR): $21,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
White oak school provides effective research-based instruction for students with language-based learning disabilities. A major focus of these services is to improve the language skills through an emphasis on reading, spelling, written language and oral language.
What it reported doing in 2024
White oak school provides special education services to students with language based learning disabilities. Approximately 56 students served during fy2025.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 95% 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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 67
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 55
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 70.4%; rating input score 70
- Program expense ratio: 83.1%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 12%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.67; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 70.4% of revenue deployed · 83.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $143K · 5 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $165K reported
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.