An elite California private school is reeling from recent allegations that a 45-year-old teacher had sex with a teenage student, PEOPLE learns.

Dr. Aimee Palmitessa — who taught science at the Brentwood School, a K-12 school in Los Angeles with tuition up to $40,000 a year— was taken into custody on Friday and booked on suspicion of statutory rape, PEOPLE has confirmed.

L.A. police declined to release much information about the case, but school officials say Palmitessa is accused of abusing a 16 year old student. She has since been placed on leave.

“As always, our primary concern is the safety, health and well-being of our students here at Brentwood School,” Riera’s statement continued. “To that end, we will do everything we can to cooperate with the official police investigation.”

The arrest has rattled the school community, according to one parent, who said such a possibility seemed far removed from them.

“It’s all anyone can talk about,” says a mother of two students in Brentwood’s upper school. “It’s really shocking.”

“We paid a lot of money to make sure that our kids wouldn’t be exposed to this type of thing,” the mother tells PEOPLE. “It’s sad that it could happen here, because Brentwood is a really good school and I hate that this scandal will be attached to the school from now on.”

One of California’s highest-ranked schools, Brentwood has a long list of celebrity alumni, including Adam Levine, Jonah Hill, Fred Savage and the children of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Palmitessa has been released on $230,000 bail, jail records show. She is scheduled for arraignment next month and has not entered a plea.

It is unclear if she has an attorney. She did not return PEOPLE’s requests for comment.