Iowa High School Boys Basketball Coach Denied Contract Renewal

An Iowa high school boys basketball coach had his appeal for his contract to be renewed denied by the school board.

According to a report by the Clear Lake Mirror Reporter, Clear Lake High School boys basketball coach Jeremey Ainley will not have his contract renewed for the upcoming 2026-2027 season.

The Clear Lake Community School District Board of Education voted 4-1 in favor of following the administration’s recommendation to not bring Ainley back as the head basketball coach. The standing room-only meeting took nearly two hours and included members of the board, community and administration being present.

Clear Lake School Board Votes In Favor Of Decision Made To Not Retain Head Boys Basketball Coach

Both current and former Clear Lake boys basketball players, assistant coaches and parents spoke in favor of retaining Ainley, who won nearly 230 games over the past 12 seasons. Under Ainley’s guidance, the Lions reached the Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Basketball Tournament and captured nine North Central Conference championships.

Earlier this year, Ainley made a social media post that mentioned the success of the Clear Lake boys basketball program, prompting online discussion regarding his future as head coach. It was later confirmed that Ainley had been placed under investigation by Clear Lake Schools Superintendent Ian Dye.

The bullying and harrassment claims were later found to be untrue, but the decision had been made to move on from Ainley as the head boys basketball coach.

Special Meeting Included Jeremey Ainley Speaking Out On His Behalf

Those in support of Ainley returning in his role filed a petition to get a hearing with the school board.

“Accountability is not a bad word,” Ainley said during the hearing. “There’s been a total lack of direction through this whole process, from not allowing the AD to do his job to an investigation that didn’t include half the team.

“And finally to us having to get a petition to force this on the school board to even discuss it.”

Clear Lake Became State Contender Under Ainley's Guidance

Ainley added that under his guidance, Clear Lake boys basketball went from being an “underachieving program to a level of success that has never been done in school history and more importantly what we’ve done off the court.”

Jason Enke, who was representing Ainley, claimed that the board policy was not followed.

“The investigation report should have been written by the investigator according to your board policy, but the one we saw was written by superintendent Dye,” Enke said. “Superintendent Dye shared the unfinalized report with parents, which ended up being a false claim of a founded harassment and bullying claim.”

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