SARATOGA SPRINGS — At a Board of Education Meeting on January 25, Dr. Michael Patton, Superintendent of Schools for the Saratoga Springs City School District, said that an ongoing independent review of the district’s athletic program should be completed “about a month or so from now.” The review is being led by Tracie Lopardi of the Harris Beach law firm. Lopardi and her partners have examined documents and conducted “many interviews,” according to Dr. Patton.
The review stems from claims of “a toxic culture of alleged abusive coaching” in a legal complaint filed in October of last year. Girls varsity cross-country and indoor track coaches Art and Linda Kranick were at the center of the allegations. 1989 graduate Kristen (Gecewicz) Gunning said that the running program was “a toxic culture of control and abuse of middle and high school girls all in the name of winning.” 1999 graduate Lauren Hogan said that some aspects of the Kranicks’ program “caused immense damage to me both mentally and physically.”
An updated version of the legal complaint from October 30 included more than a dozen witnesses who made various claims against the Saratoga Springs High School track program. The claims spanned from the 1980s to 2022.
