Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said Tuesday he wants to go back to work.
Scoffing at the high-profile FBI investigation that spurred the Los Angeles Unified School District board to put him on paid leave on Feb. 27, Carvalho denied any wrongdoing Tuesday in a statement released by his attorneys.
Two weeks after federal agents raided his San Pedro home and downtown L.A. school district office, Carvalho’s statement urged officials to put him back to work in a statement released through his legal team.
“Mr. Carvalho remains confident that the evidence will ultimately demonstrate that he acted appropriately and in the best interests of students,” a spokesperson for Carvalho said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “We hope the school board reinstates him promptly to his position as superintendent.”
“Mr. Carvalho respects the rule of law and the investigative process and has always acted in the best interests of students and within the bounds of the law,” the statement continued. “While the government’s investigation remains ongoing, no evidence has been presented by prosecutors supporting any allegation that Mr. Carvalho violated federal law.”
Asked about the statement, a Los Angeles Unified spokesperson said Carvalho “remains on administrative leave pending investigation.”
“The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education respects his right to defend himself,” the spokesperson said. “The board appointed acting Superintendent Andrés E. Chait during this time to ensure the district remains focused on the mission of providing excellent public education without distraction.”
The Los Angeles Unified school board is hosting its first regular meeting Tuesday since Carvalho was placed on leave. Board members took up several agenda items including a major budget update and labor agreements. The board meeting was still underway when news of the Carvalho’s statement emerged.
Carvalho and his wife, Maria Florio Borgia Carvalho, “opened their door on the early morning of Feb. 25, to the sight of agents with long rifles drawn,” sources familiar with the investigation told The Los Angeles Times. They were placed in handcuffs and put in the back of a car while FBI agents searched their home and took items such as computers, cell phones and some paper documents, according to the newspaper.
Carvalho has been superintendent of the LAUSD since February 2022. He was reappointed to the post in September 2025. He previously served as superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida for 14 years.
LAUSD’s board named district administrator Chait as interim superintendent two days after the FBI launched its probe. Media outlets have reported that the searches were related to AllHere, a since-shuttered company that helmed an artificial intelligent chatbot deal with the district.
“I know that this is a very challenging time, but I want you to know that the board believes in you, supports you and knows that you will all continue to do your very best to support the students and families of the district,” Board President Scott Schmerelson said after the announcement.
The board made the decision after roughly seven hours of deliberations spanning two days, the latest dramatic turn for the nation’s second-largest school district, which has been navigating budget reductions and labor negotiations even before this week’s federal action.
Multiple media outlets have reported that investigators may be examining Carvalho’s involvement in the district’s past contract with AllHere, the now-defunct education technology startup behind LAUSD’s AI chatbot initiative. Federal authorities have not confirmed that connection.
LAUSD entered into a multiyear contract valued at roughly $6 million with the Boston-based company in 2023. The chatbot, known as “Ed,” was later taken offline after AllHere collapsed financially in June 2024. Later that year, federal prosecutors in New York charged the company’s former CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin, with securities fraud and related offenses tied to investor deception. Those charges were not specifically linked to LAUSD’s contract.
Public records link the Florida property searched by agents to Debra Kerr, an education technology salesperson whose clients included AllHere. Neither the FBI nor law enforcement sources have identified Kerr as a target of the investigation.
The education news outlet 74 previously reported that Kerr claimed in bankruptcy proceedings that AllHere owed her approximately $630,000 in unpaid commissions related to the LAUSD contract. The outlet also reported that her son, Richard Kerr, a former AllHere account executive, said he helped pitch the company to Los Angeles school leaders.
LAUSD has previously said it was not aware of any financial irregularities at the company and that it had not received any requests from federal authorities related to the matter. Carvalho has denied personal involvement in the selection of AllHere, according to the L.A. Times.
The board’s vote comes as LAUSD confronts a projected $877 million structural deficit for the 2026-27 school year. Last week, the board voted 4-3 to authorize preliminary layoff notices affecting roughly 2,600 contract management and certificated administrators and to eliminate more than 650 central office and centrally funded classified positions. Labor leaders have urged caution, arguing that updated state revenue projections could alter the district’s financial outlook.
Carvalho’s contract was renewed last year, and he earns $440,000 annually. District officials have pointed to improvements in attendance and gains in Advanced Placement participation during his tenure.
In 2020, while Carvalho was still in Miami, the Miami-Dade school system’s inspector general conducted an investigation into a $1.57 million donation Carvalho solicited from the online education company K12.
The donation was made to the Foundation for New Education Initiatives, a nonprofit organization Carvalho founded to improve learning opportunities for students from lower-income families. The investigation ultimately found no wrongdoing, but the inspector general recommended that the money be returned.
City News Service contributed to this report