Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho has resigned, nearly four months after the FBI raided his home and office. The home of Carvalho, who held the role for just over four years, was raided as part of a fraud and corruption probe, the New York Post reported.
Carvalho tendered his resignation Sunday, June 21, and said it would be effective immediately, according to the Los Angeles Times. “It has been a great honor to serve you,” the 61-year-old wrote in the note. “Over the past four years, together, we have made historic progress — gains that belong to our students, our educators, staff and our communities.”
Carvalho wrote in his resignation letter to the LAUSD that he did not want to become a “distraction” to students. “Placing students first has always guided my work,” he said.
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Carvalho, however, did not make any direct reference to the ongoing FBI investigation. Sources said that the probe is linked to a corruption scandal from a botched AI education company, per the New York Times. LAUSD officials said that they will release a statement later.
LA Board of Education members’ vote
Carvalho, the former leader of the nation’s second-largest district, had been on paid leave for almost four months. On February 27, LA Board of Education members voted a margin of 7-0 to put him on leave.
The unanimous verdict was announced just two days after raids were executed at his $2.5 million San Pedro home, his office at LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, and another location in Miami tied to the investigation. Armed agents raided the San Pedro home before Carvalho and his wife, Maria Florio Borgia Carvalho, were handcuffed and put into the back of a car, per the Los Angeles Times. The agents seized cellphones, computers and paper documents.
Meanwhile, school board members and staffers were asked to leave the LAUSD headquarters while agents searched the place.
Carvalho has not been charged with any crime. The LAUSD said that it was cooperating with investigators.
“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,” a spokesperson said, per the New York Post. “While the government’s investigation remains ongoing, no evidence has been presented by prosecutors supporting any allegation that Mr. Carvalho violated federal law.”
