Former Kaiser High School Principal John Sosa, who was abruptly placed on leave last fall as the Department of Education conducted an internal investigation, says he still hasn’t been told of the accusations against him.

"I still am under investigation. I don’t know what it is that I supposedly did that was so egregious that they had to remove me from my position," Sosa, 71, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. "I won’t know until the DOE contacts me."

Sosa retired in December, three months after the DOE launched its investigation, ending a 44-year career with the department.

"I retired for various reasons. One of the main ones is that I felt very, of course, committed to and responsible to the school, and the school could not move forward as long as I was on leave and being paid," he said. "I just felt that because I could retire that it was a good decision to do so at the time."

DOE officials have yet to release any details of the probe.

"It is an active investigation," DOE spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said. "There isn’t anything we can say regarding the situation because it is an ongoing investigation. The process can sometimes take a while."

Sosa, who led the Hawaii Kai school for more than five years, last year was named Principal of the Year by the Hawaii Association of Secondary School Administrators. The organization credited his efforts with introducing the prestigious International Baccalaureate program at Kaiser and boosting the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses.

The school’s reading and math scores also improved under his leadership along with its on-time graduation and college-going rates.

A spokeswoman for the Hawaii Government Employees Association, the union representing public school principals and vice principals, said the union no longer represents Sosa because he’s retired.

Justin Mew, principal of the neighboring Niu Valley Middle School, replaced Sosa as principal at Kaiser.