Dan Williams, the director of Santa Barbara High School’s MAD Academy, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the Santa Barbara Unified School District.
John Becchio, the district’s assistant superintendent of human resources, declined to release any additional details about Williams’ situation, calling it a personnel matter.
Santa Barbara High School principal Dr. Elise Simmons last week sent a letter out to families with students in the Multimedia Arts & Design Academy, known as the MAD Academy for short.
“I wanted to take a moment to inform you that effective today, the district has placed Dan Williams on paid administrative leave pending an investigation,” Simmons wrote. “While I understand that you will want to know the reasons for this action, this is a confidential personnel matter, and the law prohibits the district from disclosing those reasons to you. Upon completion of the investigation the District will reassess his status.”
The Multimedia Arts & Design Academy is comprised of state-of-the-art facilities, designed by media professionals to accommodate film and photography shoots, and digital media creation, and provide an innovative learning environment.
The Pulice Media Center houses two studios, two digital media labs, a lounge, a food kiosk and offices. The lynda.com Studio is a nearly 2,000-square-foot silent stage, and Studio S is just over 600 square feet.
Both studios are outfitted with lighting grids, and industry-level lighting, sound and grip equipment.
The Max Whittier Lab is comprised of 34 high-end Macintosh editing stations, while the New Media Lab contains 34 Windows video-editing stations, according to the Academy’s web site.
“I will ensure that the stability and community of the MAD Academy continues, and that there are minimal disruptions to MAD Academy students,” Simmons wrote. “Therefore, while Dan Williams is on paid administrative leave, Assistant Principal Matt Stockton, AJ Henning, and myself will be leading the MAD Academy.
“We will work together, along with the MAD Academy Foundation Board, MAD Academy staff, and the parents, to ensure that MAD activities and the day-to-day tasks will be taken care of at the highest level.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
