Exclusive | LAUSD chief Alberto Carvalho accused of hiding his tracks before resignation, secret letter reveals

Disgraced Los Angeles superintendent Alberto Carvalho allegedly went to extraordinary lengths to hide his activities — including ripping out a GPS tracker from his district-issued SUV and getting Telegram unblocked on his work computer, according to a bombshell internal letter.

The revelations are among a string of explosive allegations laid out by the Los Angeles Unified School District board as it moved to fire Carvalho or force his resignation following the FBI’s February raids on his home and office.

The June 8 letter accused the former $440,000-a-year superintendent of unprofessional conduct, poor performance and violating state law or district rules — while detailing a series of alleged efforts to operate beyond the school system’s oversight.

Carvalho allegedly ordered staff to remove the GPS device from his district vehicle so the school system could no longer track his movements, according to board President Scott Schmerelson.

He also allegedly directed his district-paid driver to handle personal errands, including taking his wife to LAX and driving Carvalho and a female district employee to restaurants and other social outings.

And when it came to communications, Carvalho allegedly had staff unblock Telegram on his LAUSD computer despite the messaging platform being deemed a high cyber risk, according to the letter.

Carvalho’s attorneys pushed back, saying he believed his use of the district vehicle and driver was authorized and that LAUSD officials knew he used secure messaging applications.

“Based on his contract and guidance from the LAUSD General Counsel – and in a heightened threat environment facing public officials like Mr. Carvalho – he understood that he was authorized to use the automobile and driver after work hours,” the lawyers wrote.

The LAUSD board president in his letter also said Carvalho used a secret-messaging service for his LAUSD computers, in violation of policy.  

“You directed staff to unblock the District’s firewall to allow access to Telegram, a known website used commonly by threat actors to send anonymous messages and considered to be a high cyber risk,” the letter says.

The letter does not say why Carvalho needed a secure messaging app.

The supe’s lawyers in their in their response to the letter said LAUSD officials knew that he used a secret messaging platform.  

“Like many other public officials in sensitive positions, Mr. Carvalho occasionally used secure messaging applications,” Carvalho’s attorneys wrote.

Carvalho also sought unrestricted access to the internet for his office, in violation of policy, Schmerelson’s letter says.

“You directed staff that your workspace be allowed to bypass the District’s firewall,” states the letter. “As a result, a separate unfiltered network was installed in your office.”

In their response, Carvalho’s attorneys said Carvalho needed to access “certain websites critical to the performance of his duties” that were blocked by the district.

“These IT matters were known to you and the Board,” says the letter from Calvalho’s lawyers.

Previously reported aspects of Schmerelson’s letter charged Carvalho with taking unreported gifts, outside income and donor-funded travel. 

In addition, Carvalho received “gifts from contractors and lobbyists beyond the limits permitted by law,” the letter states.

Carvalho was placed on leave two days after the feds searched his properties. He resigned from his post in June.

Carvalho served as LAUSD superintendent for more than four years. He was regarded as one of the top educators in the country until the FBI raids.

Problems with Carvalho’s tenure keep appearing as fresh scrutiny is applied to his record.

Allegations charging Carvalho with violating laws that may have required the leader of the $20.6 billion school district to disclose extra income surfaced in June.

The veteran schools boss failed to report at least $107,000 he was paid for coaching the superintendent of Denver Public Schools.

Carvalho drew the hefty sum beginning in mid-2022, for “executive coaching” services he provided to DPS superintendent Alex Marrero, charging the DPS at least $107,000 in invoices he submitted between November 2022 and January of this year.

Marrero “ended his formal coaching relationship” with Carvalho in February, DPS spokesman Bill Good told The Denver Post, after LAUSD put Carvalho on leave.

Federal officials have said little about the possible criminal charges the former superintendent may be facing.

Charges may be brought over nondisclosure of financial payments made to public officials such as Carvalho but they most often overlap with other charges such as fraud, tax evasion or making false statements.

FBI agents in February searched Carvalho’s San Pedro residence, LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles and the Miami home of Debra Kerr, a former consultant with the tech firm AllHere who is tied to the investigation.

AllHere’s payment for a 2023 trip to the White House taken by Carvalho was identified as an undisclosed financial benefit received by the former superintendent in the Board’s letter warning him of his potential termination for just cause.

The now-defunct artificial intelligence company developed a chatbot for the district that collapsed just weeks after its release. The company’s founder, Joanna Smith-Griffin, was charged with fraud in 2024.

The LAUSD board on June 24 replaced Carvalho with Andres Chait.

Carvalho has denied any wrongdoing. He was spotted in May on shopping trip at his local Vons supermarket with his wife.

In July he placed his Palos Verdes home up for sale, asking $1,899,000 for the 2,000-square-foot house that commands sweeping backyard views of the Pacific Ocean.  

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