West Buffalo Charter School
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TOMORROW'S FUTURE LEADERS ARE SITTING IN OUR CLASSROOMS TODAY. WITH SMALL CLASS SIZES, A RIGOROUS CURRICULUM ALIGNED WITH THE COMMON CORE LEARNING STANDARDS, AND HIGH EXPECTATIONS, WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL (WBCS) DEVELOPS AN EXCEPTIONAL FOUNDATION OF LITERACY SKILLS FOR ALL STUDENTS IN GRADES K-8. WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL IS A PLACE WHERE DIVERSITY IS CELEBRATED, INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES ARE ACCEPTED, AND STUDENT SUCCESS IS MAXIMIZED.
- Income
- $8.5 million
- Spending
- $8.0 million
- Spent on programs
- 79%
- Reserves
- -2.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 93%
- Employees
- 119
- Volunteers
- 50
- Highest pay
- $214,851, school leader
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 50 out of 100. Higher than 28% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 40% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 5% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 6% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1579% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 74% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 258 of 8 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $6.4 million spent. WBCS BEGAN OPERATING IN AUGUST 2012 WITH GRADES K- 2, EXPANDING TO 4TH GRADE BY 2014. WHILE ITS ORIGINAL CHARTER CALLED FOR A K- 4 GRADE SPAN, THE NYSED DEPARTMENT APPROVED THE SCHOOL'S APPLICATION IN FEBRUARY 2016 TO EXPAND ITS PROGRAM THROUGH 8TH GRADE. THE APPLICATION WAS MADE DUE TO THE SCHOOL'S ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN GRADES K-4 AS WELL AS STRONG STUDENT AND FAMILY REQUESTS FOR AN EXPANDED PROGRAM. IN JULY 2016, WBCS BEGAN PHASE ONE OF A TWO-PHASED EXPANSION PLAN. THE FIRST PHASE WAS A $1.7 MILLION EXPANSION TO ITS ORIGINAL BUILDING WHICH THE SCHOOL FULLY SELF-FINANCED FROM OPERATING CASH FLOW. THIS EIGHT-CLASSROOM ADDITION WOULD PROVIDE SPACE FOR THE IMMEDIATE GRADE EXPANSION NEEDS WHILE CONSTRUCTION AND FINANCING WERE FINALIZED FOR THE REMAINING SPACE NEEDS. IN JULY 2017, WBCS BEGAN CONSTRUCTION ON PHASE TWO, A 30,000 SQUARE FOOT EXPANSION WHICH WOULD ACCOMMODATE THE NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM, IMPROVED ADMINISTRATIVE SPACES AND A FULL-SIZED GYM. THE TOTAL COST OF THIS EXPANSION WAS APPROXIMATELY $10 MILLION WHICH INCLUDED $3.5 MILLION TO PAY OFF THE PREVIOUS MORTGAGE AND LEASE. THE TOTAL PROJECT WAS COMPLETED IN JULY 2018 AND CURRENTLY HOUSES GRADES K-8 WITH ENROLLMENT CAPPED AT 500 STUDENTS. THE SCHOOL HAS ALWAYS ENROLLED A LARGE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES (SWD) HOWEVER MANY STUDENTS WITH MORE SEVERE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES WOULD OFTEN TRANSFER BACK TO THE DISTRICT UPON THE BUFFALO PUBLIC SCHOOL'S COMMITTEE ON SPECIAL EDUCATION (CSE) RECOMMENDATION THAT A MORE RESTRICTIVE (SELF-CONTAINED) CLASSROOM WOULD BETTER MEET THE STUDENTS' ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL NEEDS. DUE TO THIS TREND, THE SCHOOL CREATED ITS OWN SELF-CONTAINED CLASSROOM IN 2019 (8:1:1) AND NOW HAS TWO MULTI-AGE 8:1:1 CLASSROOMS WHICH ACCOMMODATE 16 STUDENTS REQUIRING A SELF-CONTAINED SETTING. THIS ALSO INCREASED THE TOTAL ENROLLMENT OF THE SCHOOL BY 16 ADDITIONAL STUDENTS WITHOUT INCREASING THE GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOMS CLASS SIZES.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since November 2011.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
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