Pinnacles Prep Charter School
Minutes
Monthly Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday March 18, 2026 at 5:30 PM
In Person: Pinnacles Prep Campus - Great Hall Classroom (504 S. Chelan Ave, Wenatchee)
Online Zoom Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81891729392
Board Members: Rick Wray, Blake Baldwin, Flora Fernandez, Rosa Pulido, Josh Castro, Nate McClennen
Contact: Blake Baldwin, Board Secretary
Email: blake@pinnaclesprep.org
Accessibility: This meeting is accessible to persons with disabilities. Special aids and services can be made available upon advance request. Advance requests for special aids and services must be made at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting's start time.
Public Comment (In-Person): Members of the public wishing to comment in person should sign up using the provided sign-in sheet 10 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. You will be called on at the meeting. The Board may respond to public comment during the meeting. Members of the public wishing to provide hard copy written comments at the meeting must bring 8 copies. Ten minutes will be allocated for public comment, with the option of the Chair to allow more.
Public Comment (Virtual): Advance requests for virtual public comment or to provide written public comment electronically must be made no later than 48 hours in advance of the meeting's start time. To make this request or provide a written public comment, please email Blake Baldwin at blake@pinnaclesprep.org. If you would prefer to provide oral public comment, you will be called on at the meeting. The Board may respond to public comment during the meeting. A maximum of ten minutes will be allocated for public comment, with the option of the Chair to allow more.
Small School. Big Ideas.
Pinnacles Prep Mission: We exist to cultivate curious, confident, and self-directed
students who lead and succeed in college, their careers, and their communities.
BOARD MEETING NORMS
Procedural: Follow Through on all Agreements | Be Fully Present Physically and Mentally | Start and End on Time
Behavioral: Keep Students at the Center of Our Work | Be Bold and Optimistic | Advance Justice | Put Relationships First | Assume Positive Intent
Trustees Present
Blake Baldwin, Josh Castro (remote), Nate McClennen (remote), Rick Wray, Rosa Pulido (remote)
Trustees Absent
Flora Fernandez
Guests Present
Jill Fineis (remote), Jonathan Houston (remote), Sara Rolfs
I. Opening Items
A.
Welcome and Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Consent Agenda Approval
II. Public Comment Period
A.
Open Floor for Public Comments
No requests for public comment.
III. Critical Issue Discussion
A.
Legislative Session Update
Jill provided a board with an update regarding the 2026 Washington State legislative session. The legislature approved an operating budget that diverted $7.4 million in charter school enrichment funding to transition to kindergarten account. This will result in about a $330,000 reduction to Pinnacles Prep annual budget.
Jill is attempting to schedule a legislative town hall with the Washington Charter Schools Association in April or May to discuss this issue and prepare for advocacy to restore this funding next session.
B.
Student Enrollment and Monthly Attendance Report
Sara shared a student enrollment and monthly attendance report with the board.
Tardiness has trended upward since the start of 2026, which is the opposite trend of which we saw in 2025 for the same timeframe. Our attendance reports display a cumulative picture of tardiness and Nate requested a separate metric for the next board meeting that displays what percentage of students are tardy.
The board discussed imposing disciplinary actions for chronic tardiness. We currently have incentives for arriving on time, but no consequences for being late. Jill and Sara will discuss what this could look like and report back to the board.
C.
Academic Data Presentations
Gary is assisting with parent-teacher conferences this evening, so Jill shared recent academic data with the board.
***note to self*** review data in agenda and provide metrics in same format as last month
Jill noted that Pinnacles Prep is exploring shifting applied math into a CTE framework, which would require an updated curriculum. We are also exploring moving the junior year college counseling course into CTE.
Rick asked if any Pinnacles teachers are CTE endorsed. There is one teacher currently endorsed, but are exploring an assistance pathway for other teachers who may be interested in obtaining the endorsement.
Jill noted that there are Pinnacles scholars who have been attending the Wenatchee Valley Tech Center enrolled in CTE programming but have been denied and unrolled for next year. This is because Pinnacles Prep is not part of the Wenatchee Tech Center consortium. We will be exploring a pathway to become part of the consortium.
D.
High School Vision
Jill provided an overview of graduation pathways
*REVIEW MATERIALS AND WRITE IN HERE*
IV. Committee Reports
A.
Finance
Josh provided a Finance Committee update, including a review of the current Financial Dashboard indicators:
- Student Recruitment Count: Green
- Public Revenue Received: Green
- Private Revenue Received: Yellow
- Expenditures to Date: Green
- Cash on Hand: Red
- Currently below 60 days cash (46 days)
B.
Development Committee
Jill provided the board with a development report for March 2026.
Number of Individual Gifts received YTD: $ 31,644.73
Grants received YTD: $22,267
C.
Academic Excellence
Rick shared that we are preparing to launch the annual school leader review process after spring break. Because we now have two school co-leaders, we will be modifying this process to reflect this.
Rick noted that while it would be ideal to have had an AI policy this year, we do not want to rush. Therefore, we are hoping to begin diving into an AI policy in the coming months to be prepared and adopted before next school year.
V. Additional Business
A.
Importing Upcoming Dates
- Upcoming Tabling Opportunities and other Outreach Event Support
- Open House & 7th Grade Exhibition Night & Theatrical Performance- March 30th at PPCS
- Annual Gala - March 26th at the Mercantile
- 8th Grade Internship Exhibition Night & Presentations - April 2
- Loteria World Record Event - April 24th, 4 to 10:30pm at the Convention Center
Rick asked for clarity about the legislative update in the CEO & COO report, asking whether there were additional impacts beyond the charter school enrichment funding diversion. Jill said there were reductions to other programs such as running start, but needs to figure out what the specific impacts, if any, are to Pinnacles Prep.
The following payments as audited and certified by the auditing officer, as required by RCW 42.24.080, and those expense reimbursements claims certified, as required by RCW 42.24.090, are approved for payment. In addition, payroll payments in the amount of $147,358.76 are also approved.
General Fund
Accounts Payable
Total electronic payments totaling $144,206.60 and Check number N/A through N/A totaling $0
Non-AP Cash Disbursements
Total electronic payments totaling $626.61 and Check number N/A totaling $0
Payroll
Total electronic payments totaling $147,358.76 and Payroll check numbers N/A totaling $0