A whistleblower lawsuit filed by the former principal of Damien Memorial School has been settled.
Arnold Laanui is a retired FBI agent and a proud graduate of the school. He has been a guest on The Conversation before.
HPR first talked to him when he was named school administrator, bringing his law enforcement background and experience working in the Hawaiʻi Department of Education, and then when he lost that job. He then filed a lawsuit against the school, alleging wrongful termination and retaliation.
HPR reached out to Damien for comment on the settlement. The school declined to comment.
Interview highlights
On the decision to file a lawsuit
ARNOLD LAANUI: Filing a lawsuit against the institution I absolutely love was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make. But sometimes protecting the organization and ultimately protecting the people that organization serves requires some uncomfortable conversations and some facing of hard truths. And over the course of all of my careers, whether it be my 25-year career as a FBI special agent and in federal law enforcement, or in the years I have had working in the DOE or in private education over at Damian, I've seen what happens when folks lose their way, when they lose their moral compass. I'm very grateful that this isn't the first tough storm I've been through, but it is a storm that tested that moral compass, and I'm happy to report that moral compass works just fine.
On whistleblower allegations
LAANUI: In my case, I brought forth a whistleblower allegation, which is basically an allegation where I was wrongfully terminated for my position as the CEO and president of Damien when I brought up some serious issues. Basically some very serious allegations surrounding our football program that included a sex scandal, that included a fraudulent invoice, that included an illegal recruitment scheme that violated ILH rules (Interscholastic League of Honolulu) and state and federal tax laws. These are serious allegations that I was bringing forward, and I had felt that I had been wrongfully dismissed and terminated because of it. But ultimately, when you look at whistleblower suits, they're not about revealing scandals, they're about revealing the systems that tolerate those scandals. And that was something I'd had to face head-on
On Damien’s reputation
LAANUI: The reputational hit, obviously, for any institution is a hard one. But once again, in situations like that, acknowledging what those wrongdoings are and making amends and explaining openly how you're planning on moving forward and how those corrections are in place and what that timeline is for future success — I think that's something that anybody who's facing reputational damages has got to engage in any institution that's facing those challenges. That would be my recommendation, what they should do.
This story aired on The Conversation on Sept. 23, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this interview for the web.
