Lawrence Kahn was hailed for his 30 years of leadership in the field of information technology when he was hired by ‘Iolani School as its director of technology in the summer of 2014.

But by October 2015 he was fired from the $141,000-a-year job and escorted off campus the same day.

Now Kahn is suing the Honolulu private school and its headmaster, claiming he was sacked for meditating with faculty members before school.

“It’s been a rough road to hoe and a painful road,” Kahn said Wednesday in a phone interview from San Francisco, where he is now interim information technology director at another independent school.

Kahn, a Buddhist, is suing the school for religious discrimination for trying to bar the meditation practice, as well as for unlawful retaliation. Headmaster Timothy Cottrell is named in the suit for allowing the discrimination.

The complaint seeks back pay and future loss of earnings plus punitive and other types of damages.

In a statement, ‘Iolani spokeswoman Cathy Lee Chong described Kahn’s allegations as “completely meritless.”

‘Iolani School, she said, “is deeply disappointed with Mr. Kahn’s decision to file his complaint. As an employee, Mr. Kahn was treated fairly in all respects. The school strongly denies any wrongdoing, and fully expects to prevail on all claims. ‘Iolani School will have an appropriate future opportunity to prove that Mr. Kahn’s allegations are completely meritless.”

KAHN said his belief in Buddhism grew out of his practice of mindfulness, a sitting form of meditation that allows one to be present and focus on the moment. The complaint describes mindfulness meditation as a cornerstone of Buddhist practice and religion.

Kahn, who has already landed a permanent IT director’s job at a school in Fort Worth, Texas, next year, said that when he started at ‘Iolani, he was asked by Karen Neitzel, associate head of school, to conduct a seminar on technology and mindfulness.

“I was happy to do it,” he said.

He soon started a small mindfulness group of faculty members that would meet three days a week before school from 7:10 to 7:25 a.m.

His first year seemed to go well, as evidenced by a “nice raise,” Kahn said. But in August, Neitzel told him to stop conducting the meditation sessions, saying he was being perceived as a “mindfulness person” rather than a “technology person,” the complaint said.

“I told her I wouldn’t stop because it was very important to me,” he said.

Neitzel left the meeting miffed, according to the complaint, and she began to exhibit hostility toward Kahn. Even so, she never raised any specific concerns regarding Kahn’s actual work performance and never formally disciplined him, the suit said.

“As far as I knew, I was doing a good job,” Kahn said.

A couple of weeks later Cottrell surprised Kahn with an “annual review” in which he was told that “the level of support from his department is down” and that the department needs to be more “responsive.” But there was nothing documented to back up the assertions, according to the complaint.

Then, in October, Neitzel presented Kahn with a letter saying he was being fired for insubordination, unprofessional conduct, an inability to perform work as required or assigned, poor management of his department, inability to communicate effectively within the school community and “a lack of confidence in your ability to guide important technical decisions for the school,“ the lawsuit said.

AFTER being handed the letter, he was told he could either resign or be terminated. He asked whether he could call an attorney friend for advice, but before he finished his phone call, Neitzel returned to say Cottrell had changed his mind and that he was being fired immediately, the complaint said.

He was escorted from the campus, he said, and Cottrell sent out a schoolwide email to announce his departure. The email violated his privacy rights and portrayed him in a false light, the suit said.

School officials failed to adhere to a discipline policy that has given other employees at his level a second chance after being disciplined, according to the complaint.

“I was there a year and a half and I love the people, the culture and the islands — everything about it,” he said Wednesday over the phone. “My wife and I are heartbroken.”