Pinnacle Board Meeting Minutes
January 22nd, 2026
Attendees in person: Michelle Strasburger, Monica Sava, Kelly Cunningham, Pam Kaplan & Kathleen Reardon
Attendees via zoom: Beth Marquis & Kurt Simione
Absentees: Bonnie Balsamo, Katie Sullivan & Erin Neuhart
Meeting minutes from January 8th were approved.
Agenda Items:
Project Management Proposals:
5:30- Sebhia Dibra
Has worked with many early-stage start-ups.
Would support the Executive Director
Self-motivated
Doesn’t have any Project Management Certifications
6:00- Kristen McQuade
Has worked for non-profits
Has worked for 20 years in higher education
Likes the waterfall approach for hard, state deadlines
Develops communication plans
Breaks down milestones into deliverables & subtasks
Has a Project Management Certification
6:30- Alex Roosenburg
Teacher for overseas & international schools
Started a private school in Washington D.C.
Helps micro-schools start up across the country
Has grant writing, marketing & fundraising experience
The group agreed to hire Kristen McQuade for the project management for $90/hr. Kelly made a motion to hire Kristen and have Michelle work out a quote/contract. Pam seconded. All were in favor.
Treasurer Update:
Accounting Firm: Blundell Accounting
We will pay for the gold standard ($3,200 month) for the first year.
Michelle motioned to engage to sign the Blundell contract for Pinnacle. Monica seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Kelly motioned to table the Blundell contract for NCQE. Pam seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Pam will draft the NCQE form 1023 nonprofit application.
Legal Firm: Soloway and Hollis $375 an hour
Auditing Firm: Veroff ($9,250) and grant audit ($2.5-$3k). The cost is fully reimbursable by the grant. The firm is highly recommended by state contacts.
Pam motioned to have Michelle sign the engagement letters for Pinnacle. Kelly seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Pam motioned to have Michelle sign the engagement letter for NCQE. Kurt seconded the motion. All were in favor.
A vendor ID registration is needed for the Grant in order to get enrolled for electronic reimbursement.
Pam and Kathy have approached the local banks to apply for a line of credit against the grant. Bangor is reviewing the documents Pam provided. Citizens are reviewing the documents Kathy provided.
Discussion was focused on who would be responsible for running the bank accounts for Pinnacle and NCQE. Pam made a motion for herself and Michelle to be responsible for the bank accounts. Monica seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Pam Kaplan and Michelle Strasburger are authorized to open and close bank accounts and conduct banking activities as required by the entity, Pinnacle Charter School from this day, forward.
Kelly made a motion to move the $30,000 in donations from the NCQE account to the Pinnacle account (once it is opened). Pam seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Director Interview Update/Feedback:
The group agreed to allow Michelle to reach out to Alex Roosenburg and see if she’s interested in becoming our interim Executive Director for $100/hr. Pam made a motion to hire Alex for the interim Executive Director. All were in favor.
NCQE Update:
Fundraising update: Kathy reached out to some local restaurants & businesses.
She has not heard back yet from 1840, Smokin T’s, Blackbear Tavern and Noyes Chevrolet. The Pitstop Pub just opened within the last three months; they might be interested in doing something in the future.
We don’t meet the criteria for the USDA World Development Grant.
Kathy will look into Growth Schools.
The Title Grants open April 1st for applications.
Once Legal have reviewed the lease, Kathy will apply for a Lease Aid Grant.
Michelle set up a Pampered Chef fundraiser. She also discussed possibly doing a Valentines Day Fundraiser at the Tillotson Center.
Michelle and Kathy will be visiting some local businesses and also reaching out to high net-worth individuals for contributions.
A donation page will be added to the website.
Board Status: Katie Sullivan officially resigned from the NCQE board. Michelle expects Erin Neuhart to follow. We need to recruit more NCQE board members. Kathy is going to reach out to a friend of hers.
Building Status:
We need a lease aid application. Once the attorney is signed, Michelle will send the building lease to them for review.
Curriculum Committee:
A Curriculum Committee is needed. Kelly and Monica volunteered to join. Michelle made a motion for Monica to be the chair of the Curriculum Committee. Pam seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Kelly confirmed the AI Tutor Bot is integrated with required curricula (Odell, Illustrative Mathematics, Open Sci-Fi). The bot will feed student progress data into Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) for teachers.
Task Updates:
We decided not to touch upon this during the meeting. Task updates can be seen on Monday.com.
Tuition Amount for Out-of-State Students:
Michelle made a motion for the tuition rate for out-of-state students to be $10,000, as previously discussed. Pam seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Pam made a motion to adjourn the meeting. All were in favor.
Other Items & Next Meeting:
An off-cycle meeting will be scheduled with Kristen to review the Monday.com project plan.
The next Pinnacle Board Meeting is Thursday, February 5th at 5:30.
Signed by Pinnacle Board Secretary:
Beth Marquis ____________________________________ Date:1/26/26