Imai also said Johnson, who compiled a record of 58-29-1 in eight seasons at Kailua and has guided the Surfriders to O'ahu Interscholastic Association championship games three years running, was cleared of any wrongdoing after a 10-day investigation into formal complaints by assistant coaches to the school on April 13.

Imai referred to Department of Education policy on personnel issues in explaining why the complaints could not be disclosed. He said on April 16 that a gag order had been placed on all parties involved.

Imai said Johnson will stay on at Kailua as an educational assistant for now, but added Johnson has plans to return to college to complete his bachelor’s degree.

Johnson could not be reached for comment this morning, but at about 4:30 p.m. yesterday, he told The Advertiser, "I’m still the football coach at Kailua, I still work there."

Imai said he met with Johnson and Kailua principal Francine Honda until about 9 last night, and the result was Johnson tendering his resignation.

"I guess that’s what he had been thinking about anyway, and after he sat down with his wife to talk about it, he felt this would be a good time (to resign) and that’s what he decided," Imai said. "It was his decision and his call — he wanted to do it."

Imai said although the investigation was complete by Friday afternoon, he and Honda were not able to meet with Johnson until last night.

"We all have other things we need to work on during the week, so we couldn’t just concentrate on this," Imai said. "That’s one of the reasons it took so long. That, plus we really wanted to get everything clarified in writing and double-check everything, and we needed to sit down with Darren to talk about it."

Imai said he will advertise for the coaching vacancy and hopes to fill it by May 24, when spring practice begins.