The LAUSD superintendent role has a permanent new face. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted to appoint Andrés Chait as the head of the nation’s second-largest school district, closing out a turbulent chapter that began with an FBI investigation and the abrupt departure of his predecessor.

Chait had already been steering the district as acting superintendent since February, when Alberto Carvalho was placed on leave. With Carvalho’s resignation now official as of last Sunday, the board moved quickly to make Chait’s leadership permanent.

A Unanimous Vote of Confidence

The board’s decision came after a closed-session discussion and was unanimous. For a district navigating significant uncertainty, the choice signaled a desire for stability and continuity rather than a drawn-out external search.

Board President Scott Schmerelson said the appointment reflected the board’s confidence in Chait’s leadership, his decades of service to Los Angeles Unified and his demonstrated ability to guide the district during a period of transition. He praised Chait’s commitment to students, families, employees, and the broader school community. KFI AM 640

Chait, for his part, struck a humble and grateful tone. He thanked the board for its faith in him and acknowledged the support he received from the district community over a challenging stretch, saying he could feel that people were rooting for shared success.

From Kindergarten Teacher to the Top Job

What stands out about Chait’s rise is how deeply rooted it is in the district itself. He has spent three decades with LAUSD, climbing nearly every rung of the ladder along the way.

His career path includes roles as:

• Kindergarten teacher, where he first began
• Assistant principal and later principal
• Local District superintendent
• Chief of school operations
• Acting superintendent

That long history inside the system gives him an insider’s understanding of how the district functions, an asset as he takes on one of the most demanding jobs in American public education.

Leading Through a Difficult Stretch

Chait didn’t inherit calm waters. During his months as acting superintendent, he guided LAUSD through labor negotiations, budget planning, and the close of the school year.

Perhaps most notably, he helped steer the district through tense negotiations with its labor unions, ultimately avoiding a major strike involving teachers, principals, and staff. He also oversaw a significant reduction-in-force plan, a difficult task given the financial pressures facing the district.

The Cloud Over Carvalho’s Exit

Chait’s promotion is inseparable from the circumstances that created the vacancy. Carvalho, who had led LAUSD since 2022, resigned roughly four months after FBI agents searched his home and the district’s headquarters in February. Two days after those searches, the board placed him on paid administrative leave.

In his resignation letter, Carvalho framed his departure as a way to keep schools focused on students and learning without distraction. He thanked students, families, educators, and the community, and said the district’s successes belonged to them.

Federal authorities have not publicly detailed the nature of their investigation. Reporting indicates it appears connected to Carvalho’s dealings with AllHere, a now-defunct company that developed an AI chatbot for the district under a multimillion-dollar professional services contract. The full status of that probe remains unclear.

The Challenges Ahead

Chait takes the helm of a district responsible for educating nearly 400,000 students, and the road in front of him is far from smooth. LAUSD is grappling with mounting budget deficits, declining enrollment, and ongoing political uncertainty.

Education advocates have stressed the importance of stable leadership during this kind of upheaval, which makes Chait’s familiar presence reassuring to many. At the same time, the teachers’ union, United Teachers Los Angeles, has signaled it will hold district leadership accountable, urging that resources be directed into classrooms rather than expensive outside contracts, a pointed reference to the spending issues tied to Carvalho’s tenure.

For now, the district has its leader. Whether Chait can deliver the continuity the board is counting on, while addressing the financial and enrollment challenges bearing down on LAUSD, will define the next phase of one of the country’s most closely watched school systems.