Santa Rosa’s Cipriano to return as Warriors hoops coach/AD

By DAVE FAVILA
LFN

Just when it looked like Santa Rosa was soon going to have to begin the arduous journey of trying to find a replacement for longtime boys head high school basketball coach Johnny Cipriano, it now seems that won’t be necessary.

After a special Santa Rosa ISD board of trustees meeting that began on June 2 but did not end until 1:30 a.m. the next morning, Cipriano is back and will resume his duties as hoops coach and the district’s athletic director.

At the special meeting, which Cipriano requested be held, the board of trustees voted 4-3 to renew his contract. This was a reversal of the 4-3 vote that resulted in the non-renewal of his contact during an April 29 meeting.

According to Cipriano’s attorney, John Shergold, at the heart of the matter for not renewing his contract on April 29 were eight violations of school district policy that SRISD said he allegedly violated sometime during the 2019-20 school year. During the June 2 meeting, however, it was decided that none of the eight violations could be proved and, therefore, the vote was reversed.

It should be noted that during the initial April 29 meeting, no reasons or explanations for Cipriano’s dismal were ever given, which angered a large portion of the community and caused a lot of rumors to arise.

Cipriano has yet to officially go on record to comment on the matter, however, Shergold said in a statement to RGVSports.com that “he (Cipriano) fought the accusations because that’s the way he coaches,” and that “quitting is not an option; that’s not what he teaches his kids when they’re out on the court.”