LAUSD Board voted unanimously to put Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on paid leave
The Los Angeles Unified District Board of Education voted unanimously Friday to place Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on paid administrative leave, two days after federal agents executed search warrants at his home and district headquarters.
The board appointed Chief of Operations Andres Chait, a longtime district administrator and parent, to acting superintendent.
“I know that this is a very challenging time, but I want you to know that the Board believes in you, supports you and knows that you will all continue to do your very best to support the students and families of this district,” Board President Scott Schmerelson said after the announcement.
The board made the decision after roughly seven hours of deliberations spanning two days. Members met for nearly four hours Thursday without taking action, then reconvened in closed session at 12:30 pm Friday and deliberated for more than three additional hours before voting to place Carvalho on leave.
The decision marks a dramatic turn for the nation’s second-largest school district, which has been navigating budget reductions and labor negotiations even before this week’s federal action.
Federal agents executed search warrants Wednesday at Carvalho’s Los Angeles office and San Pedro home pursuant to a court-issued warrant. The affidavit remains under seal, and authorities have not disclosed the focus of the investigation.
Agents also searched a residence in Southwest Ranches, Florida, according to the FBI’s Miami field office. Carvalho led Miami-Dade County Public Schools for 14 years before arriving in Los Angeles in 2022.
Multiple media outlets have reported that investigators may be examining Carvalho’s involvement in the district’s past contract with AllHere, the now-defunct education technology startup behind LAUSD’s AI chatbot initiative. Federal authorities have not confirmed that connection.
LAUSD entered into a multi-year contract valued at roughly $6 million with the Boston-based company in 2023. The chatbot, known as “Ed,” was later taken offline after AllHere collapsed financially in June 2024. Later that year, federal prosecutors in New York charged the company’s former CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin, with securities fraud and related offenses tied to investor deception. Those charges were not specifically linked to LAUSD’s contract.
Public records link the Florida property searched by agents to Debra Kerr, an education technology salesperson whose clients included AllHere. Neither the FBI nor law enforcement sources have identified Kerr as a target of the investigation.
The education news outlet 74 previously reported that Kerr claimed in bankruptcy proceedings that AllHere owed her approximately $630,000 in unpaid commissions related to the LAUSD contract. The outlet also reported that her son, Richard Kerr, a former AllHere account executive, said he helped pitch the company to Los Angeles school leaders.
LAUSD has previously said it was not aware of any financial irregularities at the company and that it had not received any requests from federal authorities related to the matter Carvalho has denied personal involvement in the selection of AllHere, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The board’s vote comes as LAUSD confronts a projected $877 million structural deficit for the 2026-27 school year. Last week, the board voted 4-3 to authorize preliminary layoff notices affecting roughly 2,600 contract management and certificated administrators and to eliminate more than 650 central office and centrally funded classified positions. Labor leaders have urged caution, arguing that updated state revenue projections could alter the district’s financial outlook.
Carvalho’s contract was renewed last year, and he earns $440,000 annually. District officials have pointed to improvements in attendance and gains in Advanced Placement participation during his tenure.