Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 251095385
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA, US
- Phone
- (412) 621-0100
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Specialized Education Institutions
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $41,912,974
- Expenses
- $40,157,924
- Assets
- $90,022,115
- Liabilities
- $8,072,759
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
22 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LAURA B GUTNICK (PRESIDENT)
- TIMOTHY D FRENZ (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- HEIDI A ONDEK ED D (SECRETARY AND SUPERINTENDE): $357,016 total reported compensation
- RACHELLE RECTENWALD (ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT): $244,686 total reported compensation
- RACHEL WEAVER (HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR): $210,834 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children (WPSBC) provides comprehensive education and support for children who are blind or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities, from infancy through adulthood. The school offers a range of programs including school-age, residential, outreach, and adult services, all designed to foster academic, social, and emotional growth. WPSBC emphasizes creating a joyful and supportive environment where every child can achieve happiness and independence.
What it reported doing in 2024
Other program services consist of the a child's view: vision in extraordinary ways and lavi program. "a child's view: vision in extraordinary ways" early childhood center provides comprehensive childcare for children with or without visual impairments from the ages of six weeks to five years. This innovative program is designed to benefit all children, regardless of their ability level or sensory impairments. Accredited by the national association for the education of young children, a child's view is a high quality and innovative childcare program. "lavi: learning adventures for the visually impaired" is a licensed adult training facility (atf) for graduates of the wpsbc ages 21 to 59. The program runs year-round at our oakland campus. Occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech language pathologists are available to provide related service consultations and the use of assistive technology devices. Throughout the day lavi participants engage in a variety of instructional, vocational, and recreational activities adapted to maximize participation.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 68% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and assets have declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 59
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 72.9%; rating input score 73
- Program expense ratio: 75.6%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: $43.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
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: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- 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: 4.2%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.24; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -6.5% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 72.9% of revenue deployed · 75.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $30.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $357K · 22 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3M reported
- Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.