Image Credit: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers / Contributor / Getty 
Los Angeles schools were thrown into chaos after the FBI raided the home and office of embattled Superintendent Alberto Carvalho in connection with a widening investigation into a $6 million deal between the nation’s second-largest school system and an AI startup. Days later, the district’s board put him on paid administrative leave (he makes $440,000 a year).
According to federal officials, the agency executed a series of search warrants which included Carvalho’s home – during which they seized Carvalho’s work phone and other devices during Wednesday’s raid, according to district insiders. By Friday, the Board of Education voted unanimously to sideline him. Veteran administrator Andres Chait, the district’s chief of school operations, will step in as interim superintendent.
At the center of the FBI probe is a collapsed ed-tech startup called AllHere, which was given a $6 million LAUSD contract to build an artificial intelligence chatbot named “Ed,” pitched as a revolutionary tool to “democratize education.” Carvalho personally championed the project after arriving in Los Angeles in 2022, touting it at tech conferences as a game-changing way for students and parents to stay connected.
And of course, the bot was bullshit, and AllHere’s founder – Joanna Smith-Griffin, now faces federal fraud charges for allegedly inflating revenues and exaggerating the company’s client base. The criminal case remains unresolved as both sides discuss a possible deal, court records show.
Sources familiar with the investigation say the federal probe appears to have expanded beyond AllHere’s collapse to examine Carvalho’s dealings with Debra Kerr, a consultant who helped connect the startup with school districts. Kerr, a longtime associate of Carvalho dating back to his tenure running Miami-Dade County Public Schools, also had her Florida home searched this week.
District officials insist LAUSD itself does not appear to be a target and say earlier internal reviews found no criminal wrongdoing by Carvalho. But as part of its cooperation with federal authorities, the district has now ordered an additional outside review of contracting decisions made under his leadership.
Carvalho’s paid leave is expected to last at least a month.
From Undocumented Migrant to Immigration Crusader
Carvalho spent 13 years leading Miami-Dade schools, and has been an outspoken advocate for immigrant students, frequently recounting his own story as an undocumented immigrant from Portugal who later became a U.S. citizen.
He’s also had his own rough patches. In 2008, leaked emails suggested an inappropriate relationship with a reporter covering Miami schools – which he denied, though he acknowledged the emails themselves were inappropriate.
In 2018, he famously accepted the top job running New York City’s massive school system – only to dramatically reverse course on live television and remain in Florida.
And of course, California governor Gavin Newsom loves him…
And in Los Angeles, he has faced criticism from multiple fronts. Within a year of his arrival, he dismantled programs championed by his predecessor, Austin Beutner. Last year, Beutner and several students sued the district, alleging more than $76 million in art and music education funds had been misused.
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