L.A. School Board places Carvalho on indefinite leave after FBI investigation
.png "The Los Angeles School Board placed Supt. Alberto Carvalho on paid administrative leave on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, after the FBI raided Carvalho’s L.A. homes and school district offices on Wednesday. Carvalho is the former Miami-Dade school superintendent.")
The Los Angeles School Board placed Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on indefinite administrative leave Friday, two days after FBI agents raided his California home and school district office.
In a unanimous vote Friday, the seven members of the Los Angeles Unified School District board chose to put Carvalho, the former Miami-Dade school superintendent, on paid administrative leave pending the FBI investigation. He makes an annual salary of $440,000, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Andres Chait, the chief of school operations, will be interim superintendent. Chait has worked for the school district for nearly 20 years.
“I am humbled by the Board’s confidence in appointing me to serve as Acting Superintendent during this critical time. Our focus remains clear: to ensure stability, continuity, and strong leadership for our students, families, and employees,” Chait said in a statement Friday.
Board President Scott M. Schmerelson also released a statement: “Today’s action is aimed at fulfilling our promise to students and families to provide an excellent public education without distraction.”
Carvalho, 61, who has decline to comment, has not been charged with any crimes. But he championed an AI educational chatbot startup that collapsed shortly after the district inked a $6 million contract with it. He also has been a vocal opponent of President Trump’s immigration policies, having come to the United States as an undocumented immigrant from Portugal when he was 17.
The school board first began the closed-door emergency meeting to discuss Carvalho’s employment Thursday but tabled the discussion for Friday. Before the Thursday session, district parents voiced their concern about Carvalho and the board.
READ MORE: L.A. school board to meet in private to discuss Carvalho’s future after FBI raids
One resident accused the board of being complicit with Carvalho in what the FBI is investigating, though the agency has not said why its agents raided Carvalho’s L.A. home and school district office on Wednesday. As part of its investigation, the FBI searched a home in Southwest Ranches in Broward that is owned by an educational consultant who has ties to Carvalho.
The FBI raids are connected to AllHere Education — an AI company that collapsed and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in 2024. Its founder and CEO, Joanna Smith-Griffin, was charged with defrauding investors in November 2024.
READ MORE: Broward home searched by FBI as part of case linked to L.A. schools chief Carvalho
The Los Angeles school district entered a $6 million contract with AllHere shortly before the company went bust. Carvalho heavily promoted the artificial-intelligence chatbot, which was billed as helping with student absenteeism.
The Miami-Dade Public School System also signed a $1.8 million three-year deal with AllHere months after Carvalho left for L.A. in February 2022. Carvalho had been the Miami-Dade superintendent for 14 years.
A Miami-Dade school district spokesperson said nothing came from the contract.
Broward home searched
The Broward home searched by FBI agents is owned by Debra Kerr, a past sales representative for AllHere Education. She was listed as one of AllHere’s creditors, bankruptcy court records show. She said she was never paid a $600,000-plus commission for landing the L.A. contract.
She and Carvalho have known each other for years through her work as a registered lobbyist for a large school textbook publisher, Pearson Education.
This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 7:37 PM.
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