In a dramatic move, Santa Barbara’s school board on Tuesday ordered its lawyers to change the district’s settlement with embattled MAD Academy Director Dan Williams to force his “immediate removal from campus.”
The board’s action, announced as the five members emerged from closed session, followed a half hour of angry and impassioned testimony from parents and district critics, several of whom called for firing Superintendent Cary Matsuoka.
“A fish rots from the head,” said James Fenkner, a parent and plaintiff in legal action against the district in a separate matter. “It is your sole responsibility as a board to deal with the rot at the top, and please deal with it now. Otherwise, the stink will only get worse, and it will be forever on your hands.”