SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s entire board resigned last week, moments after naming a seven-member transitional board. The board quit amid many public troubles, including a wounding state audit and weakening fund-raising efforts.
Outgoing Chairman Stephen Serlin told The Saratogian that a fresh start was the only way for SPAC to recover its fundraising goals, which have been hurt by ongoing negativity despite the March replacement of former president Herb Chesbrough.
“We don’t want to ride out the storm because we’re in a quagmire,” said Serlin. “I had great, great visions for where SPAC should go. We have not been able to move the organization on. Something bold had to be done.”
Many in the Saratoga Springs community have called for the resignation of Serlin and other board members who either approved Chesbrough’s detrimental last employment contract or voted to drop the New York City Ballet.
“Money drives the agenda for any not-for-profit organization,” new board member E. Stewart Jones Jr. told the paper. “But perception is important, too. The people, the public, have to know that SPAC is in good hands, that the past is past.”
“People won’t give money unless they have trust,” said new board member Ed Lewi to The Saratogian.
The SPAC annual meeting, where general membership is expected to vote on the transitional team, is scheduled for May 25th, according to the paper. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
