Pinnacle Board Meeting Minutes
March 5, 2026
Attendees in person: Kelly Cunningham, Pam Kaplan & Beth Marquis
Attendees via zoom: Kristen McQuaide, Alex Roosenberg, Kathleen Reardon, Monica Sava & Kurt Simione
Absentees: Michelle Strasburger
Meeting minutes from February 10th were approved.
Agenda Items:
Blundell Financial Report:
Caitlin from Blundell gave us a walkthrough of the financial report. There is a summary, accounts payable, statement of activity, statement of financial position and statement of cashflows. The financial report will track the grant reimbursement. If we spend more than $1M, then it will require a more expensive audit. It will also track the $100,000 line of credit cashflow. Pam questioned the surplus amount on the summary page. Caitlin showed the detailed breakdown on the statement of activities page. She plans to do these walkthroughs at the board meetings as much as possible.
Building Update:
Kelly shared spreadsheets with quotes for the building. He wants Matt to start on the demolition asap. Kelly is still waiting for quotes from Matt on the electrical, buildout on the walls and the plumbing. Matt will be paying to replace the windows and he’s compliant with ADA rules.
Kelly made a made a motion to have Matt start doing renovations that are covered by the grant only for right now. Pam seconded the motion. All were in favor except for Kurt.
The asbestos testing has been paid for already. We have a contract for lead testing.
Pam made a motion to authorize the signing of the lead inspection. Beth seconded. All were in favor.
There is a way to track the building status updates in the shared drive.
Fundraising Update:
Title I grants open on April 1st. A fiscal sponsor is needed for the Citizens grant. Alex has a subscription for Grant Watch and has been updating Kathy and Ha on grants that sound good for our school. Ha is working on many grants (Kathy listed them off). They will be made available in the shared drive, with an amounts column as suggested by Pam. Kathy will investigate the Walter Foundation Grant.
Michelle has applied for the Drive NH grant from Berlin City Auto for $45,000. She will get an update on that by the end of the month.
Kathy and Michelle will be doing some big donor outreach; Brian Laperle, Don Noyes, Susie Nash & James Lambert/Krista Howe.
1023 letter from the IRS came. Kelly read the letter and a paragraph of their bylaws.
Pam made a motion to add the 1023 bylaws paragraph to the NCQE and Pinnacle bylaws. Kelly seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Kelly made a motion to sign the bylaws (including the IRS bylaws) and return to the IRS. Pam seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Curriculum:
Kelly shared curriculum documents and lesson plans for Pinnacle for the board members to review. Alex has done some outreach. She has some curriculum experts that can review the documents. She would like to offer them a stipend of $200 each for reviewing the curriculum and lesson plans and giving feedback.
Insurance:
Waiting to hear back from Michelle about an insurance update. She was not present at this meeting as she was travelling.
SIS Demos & Discussion:
PowerSchool demo is tomorrow. They’ve already had the Alma demo.
Hiring:
Waiting to hear from Adam’s and others references.
Beth Marquis will be getting an offer letter. They made some salary adjustments. A stipend will also be offered for purchase of health insurance until we can offer our own.
Kelly made a motion to approve the contract of hiring Beth Marquis (contingent on Casey’s approval). Pam seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Line of Credit/Commitment Letter:
Pam made a motion for her or Michelle to sign the final commitment letter (pending the acceptance of the attorneys’ remarks). Kelly seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Policy Documents:
Kristen told the board that 11 policies are in legal review. They will come back for review and approval.
Pinnacle Email Alignment:
All members have a Pinnacle email now and some of the members are using Teams to communicate back and forth.
Outreach Plan Implementation:
Kathy plans on making a social media post tomorrow and doing two posts a week. In May when IGA is doing the Roundup program for Pinnacle, we will have a table set up at IGA with materials about the school.
Background Checks:
Kristen let us know that Checkr is the background check system we’re using.
Beth made a motion that if the background checks come back clean, the board doesn’t need to be updated, but if they come back with issues then the board will need to review those candidates. Pam seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Inventory System Identification:
Alex had 3 demos. She will write a one-pager comparison on each and come back to the board to decide.
Monica left the meeting at this time.
Project Management:
Kristen said the biggest issue right now is locking down funding for the building renovations. After Tuesday’s Project Management meeting she will give everyone an update of the building status.
Other Business:
Pam wants to have one meeting per week with the lawyers at Sulloway and Hollis.
Pam made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Kelly seconded the motion. All were in favor.