The Brief

The Los Angeles Unified School Board planned to vote on firing former Superintendent Alberto Carvalho before he abruptly resigned in June, accusing him of “unprofessional conduct” and “unsatisfactory performance,” according to newly-released documents.

The letters — released to LAist in response to a public records request — show the district accused Carvalho of more than a dozen violations of district policy and in some cases, state law. The documents also show his legal representation contested the allegations, calling the school board’s letter a “political hit job.”

Carvalho had been on administrative leave since February after federal agents raided his home and office. He resigned in late June, days before the board planned to vote on his termination.

On June 27, The Los Angeles Times first reported that Carvalho was threatened with dismissal, but the full extent of the allegations against Carvalho was not public at the time.

The school board’s allegations

In the letter dated June 8, Board President Scott Schmerelson outlined a series of allegations, accusing Carvalho of failing to disclose outside income from his consulting work and gifts. Those perks allegedly included tickets to Dodgers games and travel expenses to speaking engagements in Washington, D.C. paid by outside vendors.

Schmerelson also wrote that an ongoing investigation found Carvalho allegedly bypassed district information technology policy, including by asking district staff to allow him access to Telegram, a messaging app the district considered to be “a high cyber risk.”

The letter also alleged Carvalho asked his district-provided driver to perform personal work.

The letter informed Carvalho that the district allegedly found he had the driver “drop off your wife at LAX on multiple occasions, drive you and a female District employee after hours to restaurants and other social outings, and her home on approximately a dozen occasions.”

How Carvalho’s legal team responded

Lawyers with Holland and Knight, which is representing Carvalho, issued a 12-page rebuttal to the district’s claims and called the planned termination “retaliatory.”

Carvalho’s attorneys wrote that the externally funded meetings, travel and other perks were public and often discussed with the district’s general counsel.

The use of a district car and driver is included in Carvalho’s contract, along with a provision for use for non-district business.

“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 letter from his lawyer read.

The response also highlighted Carvalho’s recent contract renewal, unanimously approved by the board in September 2025.

Several parts of Holland and Knight’s response were redacted. An LAUSD employee said the redactions were made to avoid invasion of privacy and because, in some cases, the public interest was better served by withholding information.

“Yesterday’s release of LAUSD’s investigation report confirms, once again, that Alberto Carvalho has broken no laws,” Carvalho’s lawyers said in a statement sent to LAist Tuesday. “While the District’s letter purports to recite other ‘issues of concern,’ it does so in an incomplete and misleading manner — as we set forth in our response to the District.”

LAUSD declined to answer additional questions about the letters or whether an investigation into Carvalho’s former employment is ongoing.

Failed AI chatbot company’s alleged role 

The board’s allegations included Carvalho’s interaction with the tech company AllHere, the now-failed company that contracted with the district to provide an AI chatbot. The board accused Carvalho of accepting $4,633.37 worth of travel and lodging from AllHere to speak at a conference, as well as attending dinner events during the contract procurement process. Federal prosecutors have charged AllHere’s CEO with defrauding investors.

The letter also mentions trips funded by district vendors to Washington, D.C. that were paid for by tele-mental-health provider Hazel Health, to Arizona to speak at an AI-focused event paid for by ed tech company Carnegie Learning and a trip to Denver for an education roundtable funded by LEGO’s education division.

On the day of the FBI raids, agents also searched the home of a woman in South Florida who was associated with AllHere. Federal authorities said that search was linked to the searches of Carvalho’s home and office in L.A., but have not connected the investigation to AllHere.

Carvalho’s lawyers said in their rebuttal that the district’s prior inquiries into AllHere “cleared Mr. Carvalho of any misconduct.”

On Tuesday, after the release of the letters, the lawyers went on to say that “[a]fter thoroughly investigating, LAUSD found no evidence that Alberto violated federal law regarding his interactions with AllHere or any other vendor.”

What are public officials required to disclose?  

California requires public officials to report outside income, gifts and investments, in part so that the public can evaluate officials' decision-making against their financial interests. Officials must submit this document, called a Form 700, annually.

The letter from the district said Carvalho did not file his most recent Form 700 by the April 1 deadline.

Carvalho was a nationally recognized educator before and during his tenure as LAUSD superintendent. The announcement of his LAUSD appointment included references to his service on the boards of several national education organizations.

The letter lists two dozen examples of payments for consulting work, travel and gifts Carvalho allegedly failed to disclose on the Form 700 between 2022 and 2024. They include tickets to a Dodgers Game provided by the California Credit Union, consulting calls with educational technology companies and travel paid for by publishing and media company Scholastic.

Carvalho’s legal representation said he “never intentionally concealed any income or gifts on his Form 700 filings.”

“The events and travel referenced in the allegations were entirely consistent with Mr. Carvalho’s duties as leader of the nation’s second-largest school district,” the letter continued.

For example, the letter noted Carvalho’s attendance at the 2022 and 2024 “Rookie of the Year” teacher awards ceremonies at Dodger Stadium were publicized and that other LAUSD board members also participated in the event.

The letter noted that many of the alleged payments date back several years.

“If the Board had any concerns regarding his disclosure obligations, there was ample opportunity to communicate such concerns to the Superintendent, and to correct them if needed,” the letter read. “That never happened.”

Carvalho’s lawyers said that the former superintendent notified both the district and the state commission that oversees Form 700 filings that federal agents seized the documents, devices and records he needed to complete the forms.

Four million acres of California’s wildest backcountry could soon be opened to paving roads and logging.

The Trump administration announced last week that it’s pushing forward with a proposal to scrap a 2001 rule that blocks logging, road building and other construction in parts of national forests. The administration argues repealing the so-called “roadless rule” is key to managing vegetation to better prevent wildfires on public lands.

Environmental advocates and other groups worry rescinding the rule would harm pristine habitat and the wildlife it supports, and open up more public land to industrial activities and human access that can cause more wildfires.

And locals are worried about losing access to some of the last protected natural lands in the region.

“What we're dealing with here in the roadless rule is the protection of the backcountry,” said David Browning, president of the Orange County Mountain Bike Association, “where you can actually go out and be having an experience where you don't hear traffic, where you don't see buildings, where you actually remember what it was like before all of us got here.”

In Southern California, large swaths of the Los Padres, Angeles, San Bernardino and Cleveland national forests would lose protections.

Browning, who spoke with All Things Considered host Julia Paskin on Monday, said he’s particularly concerned about the Santa Ana Mountains, where much of Orange County’s backcountry biking trails exist within a roadless area that could be opened to construction.

“Our mission is to protect and expand trail access, and so our entire agenda is to make sure that in a highly populated county, like Orange, that we have available the outdoors to be able to go and enjoy,” he said.

Browning takes issue with the wildfire argument — he pointed to the 2024 Airport Fire, which was sparked when heavy equipment operated by Orange County employees struck a rock. They were moving large boulders that day to, in part, block vehicles from getting into a dry brush area and potentially starting a fire. Browning said the “roadless rule” prevents such access that could increase the risk of fire. A recent peer-reviewed study supports that, finding that although roads are important for managing a fire once it ignites, they’re also more likely to be a place where a fire starts.

Though addressing wildfires and protecting public lands have become heavily politicized under the Trump administration, Browning thinks most locals probably aren’t as divided.

“ I don't think this is a party issue,” he said. “We want to hold onto the outdoors and protect them as best we can.”

There unfortunately isn’t much respite in sight for heat-weary Southern Californians.

Forecasters say this week’s heat wave is likely to be the hottest so far this summer. Extreme heat warnings will be in effect from the National Weather Service for almost the entire region from Tuesday morning through Friday evening.

Temperatures will peak between Tuesday and Thursday.

Highs in downtown Los Angeles are expected to reach around 100 degrees, and the warmest inland valleys will get up to 112. L.A. County beaches will hit the high 80s.

Forecasters have also issued Red Flag Warnings for the interior mountains and foothills of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Gusty winds and low humidity at higher elevations mean fires could spark and spread quickly.

At lower elevations, humidity continues to make the heat feel more sweltering and make it harder to cool down, especially at night. Nighttime temperatures will only get down to the 70s in most places, including along the coast.

A slight cooldown is expected this weekend, though forecasters say temperatures will stay above normal into next week.

The extreme heat this week poses an especially high risk of heat-related illness for people over 65, young children, people who work or spend a lot of time outside and those without access to air conditioning.

Driving the heat

Several factors are behind this week’s heat wave, many of which have also been behind the rest of this summer’s consistently hot weather.

The main driver is a high pressure air system hovering over the southwestern U.S., trapping warm air, compressing it and warming it further, and blocking cooler air from entering the region.

Offshore winds are also pushing warm inland air toward the coast, preventing cooler onshore winds from blowing inland.

“That blocks our natural air conditioning off the ocean from coming in as early as it normally does,” said Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford. “So as long as that cool air stays offshore, it heats up on land.”

The offshore winds are not strong enough, however, to significantly dry out the air in the L.A. Basin and cut down on the humidity.

“That's probably going to be around for the whole summer because you’ve got all this warm ocean water that's feeding into that,” Wofford said.

Warmer seawater evaporates faster, adding to moisture in the air and increasing humidity across the region, especially along the coasts.

Air quality warnings

Along with the heat this week, many Southern Californians also have smog to worry about.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued an ozone advisory on Monday for inland areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties, much of Riverside County and parts of San Bernardino County. It will remain in effect through Friday evening.

The multi-day smog event is in part driven by the heatwave.

Officials say ozone pollution may reach unhealthy levels or higher in the Santa Clarita Valley, parts of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino valleys, and portions of the San Bernardino Mountains.

Under unhealthy levels, it’s possible for anyone to experience adverse health effects like difficulty breathing and throat irritation. Sensitive populations could experience more serious effects.

Levels are expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups in the San Fernando Valley, Perris Valley, Mission Viejo, Lake Elsinore, Corona, Hemet, Riverside and Pasadena.

Officials advise certain vulnerable groups — including people with heart or lung disease, those with asthma, pregnant women, children and people over 65 — to limit their time outdoors.

Officials predict that ozone levels will be lower along the coast.