The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously on Feb. 27 to place Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on paid administrative leave days after the FBI raided his home and district offices.

The board unanimously named Chief of LAUSD school operations Andres Chait as Acting Superintendent, effective immediately. Chait has worked in the district since 1998.

School Board President Scott Schmerelson said in a district statement that the district was in good hands.

“Andres Chait is a highly regarded leader and educator, and we are lucky to have him step in seamlessly to oversee our schools. Over the past several years, our educators and students have made enormous strides, and we expect that progress to continue unimpeded.”

The board deliberated for about seven hours in two closed sessions on Feb. 26 and 27. Carvalho was not in the boardroom.

The FBI raided Carvalho’s home and district offices on Feb. 25 executing a court-authorized search warrant. The agency has not confirmed the focus of the investigation.

Despite the lack of information from the government, multiple news outlets like the Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Times and EdSource have reported that the investigation might be connected to AllHere Education, a startup tech firm that signed a $6 million contract with LAUSD to create an AI chatbot called “Ed.” AllHere collapsed in mid-2024 after the district had already paid the firm more than $3 million. The company’s founder, Joanna Smith-Griffin, was arrested and charged with wire fraud, securities fraud and aggravated identity theft. But she has not yet been convicted.

The FBI also searched a home near Miami belonging to Debra Kerr, an education tech salesperson who has had a longtime business relationship with Carvalho. Kerr and her son both worked for AllHere and helped land the LAUSD contract. Kerr claims that AllHere owes her $630,000. A source who spoke to KCBS News has separately reported that the investigation could involve allegations of kickbacks during Carvalho’s time leading Miami-Dade County Public Schools, but none of this has been confirmed by the FBI.

Federal authorities have not disclosed the focus of the investigation and the search warrant affidavits remain under seal. Carvalho has not been charged with any crime and has not been accused of wrongdoing. He has not made any public comments since the raids.

Carvalho was born in Portugal and came to the U.S. when he was 17, overstaying a visitor visa and sometimes living on the streets as an undocumented immigrant. His local congressman helped him obtain a student visa so he could attend college. Eventually he became a U.S. citizen, a background that has informed his vocal opposition to federal immigration enforcement near LAUSD schools.

He taught in Miami and led Miami-Dade County Public Schools for 14 years. He was named National Superintendent of the Year in 2014 before coming to LAUSD in 2022. His contract was unanimously renewed by the board in Sept. 2025 in a four-year deal worth approximately $1.7 million. Carvalho earns $440,000 annually and continues to receive his salary while he is on leave.

Under his leadership, district officials say student attendance has improved, as has participation in AP classes.

In the wake of the FBI operation, public reaction has varied. Parents Supporting Teachers, a grassroots parent advocacy group, called the board’s action appropriate, while UTLA, the teacher’s union, raised concerns about district spending on education tech and outside contractors.

Families in Schools, an L.A.-based non-profit that advocates for student success in underserved communities, stressed the need for continuity and stability. On local news reports, Carvalho’s neighbors sympathized with him, calling out the FBI for handcuffing Carvalho and his wife while their residence was searched.

Others, like community organizer Rual Claros, director of the nonprofit California Rising, called on Carvalho to step down, telling KABC-7 Eyewitness News that the situation was “a big FBI cloud.”

“Especially during this time right now, with this climate in politics coming from the federal level to Los Angeles, this is not what we need right now,” Claros said.

Schools beyond Screens, a parent and educator group that advocates for common sense tech reforms claiming over 1,100 members, released a statement calling for an immediate investigation into all tech contracts entered into during Carvalho’s term “to determine whether they are safe, legal, appropriate, and effective. Our concerns include, but are not limited to: the purported misappropriation of Prop 28 funds, the collapse of the ‘Ed’ chatbot, the procurement process for iReady and other apps.”

With layoffs looming, a strike possible and the superintendent under federal investigation, Chait faces an $877 million budget gap, unresolved contract negotiations with UTLA and SEIU, and a district community that has more questions than the board has so far been willing to answer.

Mr. Jacob Ferrin, a history teacher at Van Nuys High School, said the new superintendent has his job cut out for him.

“I don’t know the new superintendent very well, but his arrival will likely put additional pressure on the board,” Ferrin said. “They unanimously voted for Carvalho, and now, given the investigation, they’re in a politically precarious position. That could influence negotiations as layoffs approach.”

But the labor situation is only one of the pressures bearing down on the district. Chait also faces legal challenges from outside, and Ferrin said the new superintendent’s approach to federal involvement could matter just as much as how he handles the budget. He pointed to one in particular.

“We’re also facing a federal lawsuit connected to the 1776 Project out of Montana, so how the superintendent handles federal involvement will be important. I don’t know much about him personally, but people in teacher, parent, and union circles seem to view him favorably. What that ultimately means for policy remains to be seen.”

For students, the leadership change registers differently. The superintendent’s name may not come up in class, but the decisions flowing from that office, whether on funding, on staffing or on what schools look like day to day, shape the experience whether students are paying attention or not.

“I don’t care who the superintendent is,” senior Isabel Valles said. “But in reality it should be something that I care about because they are the ones making the decisions on my education and the system that I’m in.”

Still, Valles said the change hasn’t affected her life in any obvious way.

“I think yes and no at the same time, because he’s the one making the decisions now but ultimately it may not matter as much as people think,” she said.

Pending the investigation, Carvalho’s leave will be indefinite. The board has not set a timeline. The budget must still be finalized.

On Monday, the new superintendent’s first day on the job, it was business as usual at Van Nuys and other schools across LAUSD. The district’s 392,000 students still need teachers in front of them, budgets that work, and leadership they can count on. Whether they’ll get all three remains an open question.