The Cleveland County School District board voted to hire two new coaches Monday night.
Chad Cope is returning to his alma mater to coach baseball. Cope played baseball for the Rison Wildcats during high school and was on the school’s 1995 championship football team. He attended Southern Arkansas University where he played baseball.
Cope is leaving North Little Rock to coach the Wildcats. He coached previously at Watson Chapel and Greenbrier.
The board voted to hire Cicely Greene-Simpson, who currently works at Drew Central in Monticello, as the head girls basketball and track coach.
Superintendent Craig Dupuy said Greene-Simpson coached previously but took a break from coaches when her children were younger. She now wants to get back to the coaching, he said.
The board also voted for incoming Superintendent Jerrod Williams to represent the district on the Southeast Arkansas Education Service Cooperative based in Monticello. Williams most recently worked as a grant coordinator at the Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative in Pine Bluff. He previously was the superintendent for the Sheridan School District from 2014 until late 2021.
