Wave Staff and Wire Reports
LOS ANGELES — Four months after being placed on paid administrative leave by the school board, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho submitted his resignation June 21, adding one more challenge to the nation’s second largest school district already facing declining enrollment and growing budget deficits.
“It has been a great honor to serve you,” Carvalho wrote in a letter addressed to the district’s students, families, teachers and staff. “Over the past four years, together, we have made historic progress — gains that belong to our students, our educators, staff and our communities.”
Carvalho did not offer any insight into the reasons for his decision to resign. He has been on paid administrative leave since February, when the FBI raided his homes in San Pedro and Florida, as well as his district office, in connection with a failed AI chatbot venture between the district and a company known as AllHere, which has since folded.
“Placing students first has always guided my work,” Carvalho’s letter said. “Because I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction, I am resigning as superintendent of LAUSD effective today, June 21, 2026.
“I leave grateful — to our students and families, whose protection we prioritized, for trusting us, to our exceptional and hard-working teachers, leaders, and staff at every level for their tireless dedication, to our valued partners, and to the community for the privilege of serving. The successes we have achieved belong to you. I will miss all of you and will continue to pray for the success, health, and wellbeing of every student and family in our district.
“To every student: work hard to realize your dreams and to live up to the promise of our nation. Never let anyone limit what you can accomplish.”
The LAUSD Board of Education issued a statement June 21 saying the district’s mission is unchanged.
“The board remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring stability, continuity, and continued progress through strong leadership,” according to the board statement. “Our focus remains unchanged: providing every student with a high-quality education, supporting our dedicated workforce, and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve.”
Andrés Chait will remain acting superintendent until a permanent decision is made. He told reporters June 22 that despite the shakeup in leadership, the district, which serves more than 418,000 students at 784 schools, will continue to function as usual, including summer classes and programs.
“We always maintain a focus on our students, and so regardless of whatever may be going on with transitions in leadership … it’s really about the kids and making sure that we have programs that students and families can take part in,” he said.
Carvalho was selected as superintendent of LAUSD in December 2021 after serving 14 years as the superintendent in Miami.
He was hired on a four-year contract with an annual salary of $440,000. He began a new four-year contract in February, just weeks before the raid, for the same salary, according to school board meeting documents.
In Miami, Carvalho began his education career as a high school physics teacher in the 1980s and climbed the administrative ranks.
In 2020, a nonprofit he founded to support Miami schools drew scrutiny after it solicited a $1.57 million donation from an online education company doing business with the district. The district’s inspector general later determined the donation didn’t violate state or district ethics policies but did create the “appearance of impropriety” and should be returned, according to the Miami Herald.
Instead of returning the funds, the foundation distributed the money to Miami-Dade teachers in the form of $100 gift cards.
