LAUSD administrative – The LAUSD board voted unanimously to place Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on paid administrative leave after FBI raids, naming Andres Chait acting superintendent as an investigation linked to AllHere Education continues.
The Los Angeles Unified School District board voted to place Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on paid administrative leave after FBI raids tied to an investigation, and named Andres Chait as acting superintendent.
Carvalho will continue to receive pay while on leave, with the district previously listing his annual salary at $440,000.. The board’s decision came after the FBI raided Carvalho’s San Pedro home and district headquarters. and also searched a residence in Florida.. The investigation is widely believed to connect to AllHere Education, a defunct education technology company that previously partnered with LAUSD.
The vote was unanimous, following a nearly eight-hour discussion in a closed session that began Thursday evening.. The meeting was recessed until late morning Friday, and the final decision was made at about 3:45 p.m.. Board President Scott Schmerelson told staff afterward that the board viewed the moment as “very challenging. ” but emphasized continued support for students. families. and district staff.
Carvalho has not publicly commented since the raids, and the FBI has not released additional details.. The search warrant affidavits remain sealed, and Carvalho has not been accused of wrongdoing.. For a district serving a large and diverse student population. the pause—especially involving the top executive—creates an immediate question many school communities ask during uncertain periods: who is driving day-to-day decisions. and how quickly can stability be restored.
Andres Chait, LAUSD’s chief of school operations, stepped in as acting superintendent effective immediately.. Chait has been with the district since 1998. beginning as a teacher at Queen Anne Place Elementary School and later serving in roles that included assistant principal and principal.. Over the years. he moved into wider system leadership. including serving as field director overseeing Local District Northeast’s roughly 120 schools. and later as a local district superintendent and chief of school operations.
In a written statement. Schmerelson described Chait as a “highly regarded leader and educator. ” saying educators and students had made major strides in recent years and that the board expects progress to continue without disruption.. Chait echoed the message in his own statement. saying his focus would remain on stability. continuity. and strong leadership for students. families. and employees.
The backdrop for the leave is an investigation that media reports have connected to AllHere Education. including LAUSD’s earlier work with an AI chatbot developed by the company.. Three months after LAUSD rolled out the AI tool. AllHere founder and CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin left the company; she later faced securities fraud. wire fraud. and aggravated identity theft charges.. The district’s current leadership move signals how education systems. once they adopt technology vendors. can find themselves facing long after the original pilot has ended or the product has been replaced.
For families and educators, the practical impact of a leadership disruption can be hard to separate from the headlines.. School calendars, staffing decisions, and instructional priorities depend on consistent governance.. Even when investigations are not accusations against specific individuals. the effect can be felt through uncertainty—especially when a district is also navigating public scrutiny around how educational technology is chosen. deployed. and governed.
Chait’s appointment also lands at a time when districts across the country are reassessing the risk and oversight that comes with AI in classrooms and student-facing tools.. Questions about data privacy. vendor accountability. contract compliance. and procurement transparency have intensified as schools move beyond traditional software toward systems marketed as smarter. more adaptive. and capable of supporting instruction.. When a partnership later becomes entangled in legal trouble. school leaders face a credibility test: demonstrating that student learning remains the priority while reforms are implemented to tighten controls going forward.
The board framed the decision as a move toward continuity—an argument that many stakeholders understand. even when emotions run high.. Families in Schools. represented by CEO Yoli Flores. said the district must strive for stability while acknowledging that public discourse around schools is shaped by broader political dynamics. and that investigations and actions should be grounded in evidence and fairness.
As the investigation proceeds and the timeline of the administrative leave remains undisclosed. LAUSD’s challenge will be twofold: maintaining consistent leadership across its school network. and addressing the wider lessons that emerge when technology vendors become part of a legal narrative.. For students. the hope is straightforward—less disruption in classrooms. clearer governance. and a steady return to the kind of focus that educators say is necessary for meaningful learning gains.