Outgoing Saratoga School Board Members Honored

John Ellis and Amanda Ellithorpe were recognized by the Saratoga Springs City School District Board of Education for their years of service. Photos via the district website.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — At the final regular business meeting of the school year on June 20, two outgoing Saratoga Springs City School District Board of Education members were honored by their colleagues. 

Amanda Ellithorpe, who had been with the board for three years, and John Ellis, who served for nine years, both received special recognition by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Patton and Board President Tony Krackeler.

To commemorate their tenures, Ellithorpe and Ellis will have their names engraved on bricks outside the main entrance to the high school. They also received gifts and cards from the board. 

“You’ve brought so much wise perspective and understanding of employees,” fellow board member Dr. John Brueggemann told Ellis. “We’re going to lose a lot of institutional memory and a lot of distinctive perspective when you go.”

“I always appreciated how both of you…you are who you are. There’s no veneer. I appreciate how real you are,” said board member Connie Woytowich.

Two new members will join the board for the upcoming school year: Deb Amory, a professor at Empire State University, and Matt Kopans, a development officer for Planned Parenthood of Greater New York. Krackeler said that Amory and Kopans would begin their orientation on June 21. Woytowich will also return to the board after winning reelection in May.