The embattled superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District broke his silence on Tuesday, saying through his lawyers that he had committed no wrongdoing and that he looked forward to returning to his job.
Alberto Carvalho, who since 2022 has led the nation’s second-largest school district, was placed on paid leave last month by the district’s board after armed federal agents searched his home and his office at the district’s headquarters. The relevant search warrants were sealed, and the government has remained silent on the nature of the investigation.
The Tuesday statement from Mr. Carvalho’s lawyers was his first public response to the raids, which took place on Feb. 25.
“Alberto Carvalho is a dedicated public servant committed to the students and families of the Los Angeles Unified School District,” said the statement, which was issued by a spokeswoman for the law firm of Holland & Knight, which he hired to provide personal legal counsel. “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 added that “no evidence has been presented by prosecutors supporting any allegation that Mr. Carvalho violated federal law.”
“We hope the school board reinstates him promptly to his position as superintendent,” the statement said.
District officials familiar with the F.B.I. inquiry said it appeared to stem from a two-year-old criminal probe into a troubled tech start-up called AllHere. The company was awarded a $6 million contract to develop an A.I. chatbot for Los Angeles schools before it collapsed amid fraud charges.
F.B.I. agents searched the Florida home of Debra Kerr, a consultant for AllHere who connected education technology vendors with school districts, on the same day that they searched Mr. Carvalho’s home and office. Ms. Kerr has been a friend and associate of Mr. Carvalho since his time leading the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, where he served for more than 13 years.
AllHere’s chief executive, Joanna Smith-Griffin, has been criminally charged, but that case has remained unresolved as lawyers on both sides have postponed a trial “to discuss a potential disposition,” according to court records. The delay is believed to be linked to the executive’s efforts to negotiate a plea deal.
No charges have been filed against Mr. Carvalho. Board members said last month that they were putting him on leave to maintain stability at the district as the federal investigation proceeds.
Neighbors of the superintendent, who lives near the Port of Los Angeles in a three-bedroom bungalow a block and a half from the Pacific Ocean, said they were stunned as they watched the F.B.I. convoy roll onto their quiet street at sunrise on the day his home was raided.
The agents stayed for hours, neighbors said, upsetting dogs, blocking driveways, brusquely ordering gawkers away and carting boxes out of Mr. Carvalho’s front door and down the steps past parked cars and hibiscus bushes.
“People here hope he didn’t do anything wrong,” said Julie Sherman, a caretaker for a disabled neighbor.
Mr. Carvalho’s statement came as the school district grappled with other challenges, including budget woes and a threatened strike by its teachers’ union.
On Tuesday, union members packed into the district’s board chambers for a regular board meeting. The investigation into Mr. Carvalho was not discussed directly, but his absence loomed large.
Union leaders stepped to the podium to tell board members that they were furious that the district couldn’t meet workers’ demands for better pay and working conditions and instead had spent millions of dollars on contracts with tech companies and other outside groups.
Alex Orozco, a leader of the teachers’ union, told board members that their job was to ensure that educators are paid enough to live in an increasingly expensive metropolis. Under Mr. Carvalho’s leadership, the unions have argued, unnecessary contracts with tech companies had chipped away at money that should have been going to educators.
Maria Nichols, a leader in a union representing principals and other school administrators, first praised Andres Chait, the acting superintendent and a longtime district employee, for promptly meeting with union leaders..
“A strike is the last resort,” Ms. Nichols said. “Especially at a time when L.A.U.S.D. is already navigating uncertainty, our district does not need additional instability and negative attention. What our members do need, all of us, standing here today, is a fair and equitable contract.”
As they walked out of the board chambers chanting, Mr. Chait said he planned to continue meeting with labor leaders, adding that workers were “the backbone” of Los Angeles Unified.
Shawn Hubler is The Times’s Los Angeles bureau chief, reporting on the news, trends and personalities of Southern California.
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