LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho must step down following federal corruption probe

LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho must stand aside. But Wednesday’s FBI raid on his home was only the last straw.

As The California Post reported, the FBI conducted raids on Carvalho’s LAUSD office, his home in San Pedro, and a location in Miami amid a corruption probe.

The raids were widely reported to be connected to a failed AI chatbot in which Carvalho had invested district funds.

The founder of AllHere, the company that created the chatbot, was arrested in November 2024 and charged with fraud in federal court in New York.

Carvalho is entitled to the presumption of innocence. Yet the raid renews questions about his ability to lead the district.

Already, Carvalho faces a lawsuit from former Superintendent Austin Beutner regarding nearly $77 million in allegedly misused Proposition 28 arts funds. 

The LAUSD renewed Carvalho’s contract in 2025 anyway.

The district has also continued to lose students on Carvalho’s watch.

Enrollment fell 4% this year. Carvalho blamed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, referring to the myth that feds are targeting schools. 

The reality is that despite a $19 billion budget, LAUSD continues — with rare exceptions — to provide dismally poor education.

There are bright spots — notably, the increased enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) classes, and improved results at that elite level.

There are also more students meeting or exceeding grade-level standards. But most still do not.

There is a culture of complacency in the district, which seems to believe that because it is the nation’s second-largest, it is also one of the best.

Successful districts don’t lose students. 

Worse, LAUSD is undermining its own future. 

The district recently borrowed an additional $250 million to pay sexual abuse settlements under AB 218 — on top of the $500 million it has already borrowed. 

The total costs of AB 218 — one of the most destructive laws ever signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, effectively erasing the statute of limitations and bankrupting local governments and school districts across California — could easily top $1 billion in LAUSD alone.

Carvalho lacks the moral authority and public confidence to head LAUSD. The district needs credible leadership and urgent reforms.

Joel Pollak is opinion editor of The California Post.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters