Alberto Carvalho, who arrived in 2022 promising to steady the Los Angeles Unified School District, has resigned — closing a tenure derailed this year by a federal investigation and months of leadership limbo.
A resignation months in the making
Carvalho submitted his resignation in late June, according to LAist, ending four months on paid administrative leave. "Placing students first has always guided my work," he wrote in his letter, announcing he was stepping down effective immediately.
The Los Angeles Times, in the report that first surfaced the news, said Carvalho had faced the possibility of dismissal by the school board before he resigned; the Herald could not independently confirm the details of any board action, and LAUSD has not described a formal removal vote. What is confirmed is that board members had been weighing the district's leadership in the days before his departure.
What prompted the leave
The crisis began on February 25, when FBI agents executed court-authorized search warrants at Carvalho's Los Angeles home, at district headquarters and at a property in the Miami area, ABC7 reported. The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed the warrants were court-authorized but declined to discuss them further.
The searches were tied to LAUSD's 2024 contract with AllHere, an education-technology startup that built an AI chatbot, called "Ed," meant to help students and families navigate the district. LAUSD paid roughly $3 million before terminating the contract within months; the company later collapsed into bankruptcy, and its founder was separately charged with fraud. No charges have been filed against Carvalho, who has said he did nothing wrong.
Two days after the searches, the Board of Education voted unanimously to place Carvalho on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation, and named Chait acting superintendent.
A new leader steps up
On June 24, the board voted to make Andrés Chait the district's permanent superintendent, according to ABC7. Chait is a roughly 30-year veteran of LAUSD who rose from classroom teacher to chief of school operations.
"This board's decision reflects the confidence in Mr. Chait's leadership, his decades of service to Los Angeles Unified, and his demonstrated ability to guide the district during this period of transition," board President Scott Schmerelson said, per LA School Report.
What's ahead
Chait inherits a district facing familiar pressures — a multibillion-dollar budget under strain, declining enrollment and an approaching round of labor negotiations. Carvalho's record, including test-score gains and an expansion of college-level coursework, will now be weighed against the unresolved questions surrounding his exit. The federal investigation remains open, and no current or former LAUSD official has been charged in connection with the AllHere contract.
