school board

Andrés Chait has been named superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District three days after the resignation of Alberto Carvalho in a lightning-speed transition that elevates a well-liked insider to the top of the nation’s second-largest school system.

The Board of Education announced its unanimous decision Wednesday, which was made official during the board’s last scheduled meeting before August.

“I firmly believe in leading with gratitude and never taking the work and support of others for granted,” Chait said after the announcement. “So I begin today in that spirit of gratitude. Thank you to the board for your faith in me and for this opportunity.”

“I have always known that there is no greater accelerator of change and opportunity than the school house, and that is still true today,” Chait added. “Throughout my career in various roles, that has remained my focus. How I can be of service and support to our students and families in accessing these opportunities. Please know that commitment has not changed.”

Chait had been serving as acting superintendent since Feb. 27, two days after the FBI raided the home and office of his predecessor, Carvalho. Law enforcement sources have confirmed that the ongoing investigation includes a review of Carvalho’s actions related to a company hired to create an ill-fated AI chatbot. Carvalho has not been charged and maintains that he is innocent of wrongdoing.

Chait’s style and background stands in sharp contrast to Carvalho‘s, who had 14 years of experience leading one of the nation’s largest school systems in Miami.

Carvalho carefully curated his appearances — before and during his L.A. tenure he maintained a high national profile as a sought-after voice in education. In 2018, he had accepted the job leading the school system in New York City before changing his mind and staying in Miami. He was a familiar face in national conclaves on education and among national leaders. He took charge in L.A. in February 2022.

Chait is a district parent who started off as a kindergarten teacher at Queen Anne Place Elementary School and rose gradually through the ranks. He has never worked in another school system, although his experience in L.A. Unified included a variety of roles, including elementary school principal, regional superintendent. Most recently he served as director of operations — a non-academic function — for the entire school system.

Chait was not among the phalanx of senior officials who sat directly behind the school board on the elevated stage during board meetings. Instead, Chait’s was stationed in the back next to the audiovisual equipment, where he was off camera and frequently able to joke and interact with other district staff and community members. He’d also sometimes deal directly with a community member or employee who brought forward a personal problem or issue during the public hearing portion of a board meeting.

Over the last two years, Chait has presented periodically at board meetings, including over such issues as school safety.

The announcement was made by school board President Scott Schmerelson after the board emerged from a closed session.

“This board’s decision reflects the confidence in Mr. Chait’s leadership, his decades of service to Los Angeles Unified, and his demonstrated ability to guide the district during this period of transition,” Schmerelson said. “Throughout his career, and most recently as acting superintendent, he has shown deep commitment to our students, families, employees, and school communities.”

The decision to offer the job to Chait was not entirely a surprise because he already had taken on key tasks typically handled by a long-term superintendent. These included finishing up a four-year strategic plan and selecting administrators to fill key senior positions.

The Board of Education approved a four-year strategic plan Tuesday with academic targets and measures of college, career and social-emotional readiness.

Chait also received good marks from board members and union leaders during a trial-by-fire experience with a labor dispute that came within hours of a three-union strike that would have shut down the school system.

Chait was a key participant in getting to a deal, along with Mayor Karen Bass.

“It was wonderful to have the cooperation from the leadership of the district, from the superintendent, from the school board, from the entire school board, all of that … made a difference,” Bass said in a City Hall news conference, referring to Chait, after the all-nighter.

Leaders of the three unions each praised Chait at the time.

“I want to give you a thanks, Superintendent Chait, for showing humanity. Humanity. Humanity for seeing us, seeing the workers, and believing that you can get it across the finish line,” said Cecily Myart-Cruz, the outgoing president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

Last week, Myart-Cruz said in an interview that Carvalho needed to be replaced and that Chait appeared to have the skills needed to take over — although she said she would prefer a formal selection process that included input from labor leaders and others.

Max Arias, executive director of Service Employees International Union Local 99, also praised Chait after the contract was settled.

“I want to appreciate you … for coming into a very difficult situation and stepping in and showing leadership,” Arias said. “We are ready, our members are ready, to always give a chance to building relationship or partnership.”

Interviewed last week, Arias said Chait should be offered the job outright — that a search process was unnecessary.

Also praising Chait during that April gathering in City Hall was Maria Nichols, president of Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, which represents schools principals and assistant principals among others.

“Thank you so much for listening,” Nichols said. “I know the acting superintendent’s style — collaborative, listens. He takes action. He’s humane, and he wants the best for our students, because he’s a parent and has students in LAUSD.”

The deals accepted by Chait also have critics, who contend is it more than the district can afford.

This $20.6-billion spending plan that was approved Tuesday incorporates the layoffs of up to several hundred workers with due-process rights and perhaps 1,000 more without job protections. Over the next three years, officials project thousands of additional layoffs.

The spending plan for the 2026-27 school year is nearly $2 billion higher than last year’s figure of $18.8 billion. The district’s projected revenue is $18.6 billion, although that figure could rise based on promising state tax revenues.

In the meantime, the district will cover the shortfall with reserves, which may or may not be exhausted over the next two to three years. The increased spending results largely from significant salary increases, maintaining health benefits amid rising costs and expanding the number of part-time employees eligible for benefits.

Also straining the budget has been the expiration of COVID-relief funds, inflation surpassing state funding increases and steadily declining enrollment. L.A. Unified, with about 390,000 students in transitional kindergarten through 12th grade, is about half as large as in the early 2000s.

The board did not immediately release details of the new superintendent’s contract, including the length of the term, on the grounds that is not yet in final form.

Chait’s salary as acting superintendent was $395,867. He also has received $250 per month for expenses and the use of a district car and driver for work-related activities. In his previous job as chief of school operations, which he held for about 20 months, Chait had earned $278,205.

Carvalho’s salary was $440,000 per year with an additional $50,000 paid annually into a retirement annuity. District officials have so far declined to say if Carvalho received a severance package.

Carvalho’s predecessor as permanent superintendent, Austin Beutner, was paid $350,000 per year.

The November runoff for state schools superintendent will pit two school board presidents — one a union-friendly liberal and the other a Trump-aligned conservative — against each other.

Republican, Sonja Shaw finished in first place in this week’s primary with 24.5% of votes counted through June 4. Democrat Richard Barrera had19.3%.

Shaw’s margin seems comfortable even with more ballots to be counted, with Barrera firmly in the runoff. The third-leading vote-getter, Wendy Castaneda Leal, was about 10 percentage points behind him.

The race creates a clear contrast between candidates and their vision for California’s schools.

While Shaw, 43, has not typically spoken to Trump’s immigration policies in relation to schooling, she is in accord with the Trump administration education agenda, including banning trans-athletes from women’s and girls’ sports and notifying parents when a child expresses gender-identity issues at school.

Under Shaw’s leadership, the school board in Chino Valley Unified, located in San Bernardino County, also approved a policy that permits parents to challenge books in school libraries.

Barrera, 59, is the board president of San Diego Unified, the second-largest school system in the state. He is a former union official who has developed strong bonds with the teachers union during his long board tenure.

That history helped him win the endorsement of the California Teachers Assn., which poured about $5 million into an independent campaign on his behalf.

Barrera acknowledges that this support made the difference in his leap ahead of other strong Democratic candidates.

Shaw has framed her campaign as a populist effort against a failed and self-interested status quo establishment.

“I didn’t get into this race because I was a politician,” Shaw said in a statement. “I got into it because I was a mom who saw too many families being ignored, too many classrooms falling behind, and too many elected officials unwilling to stand up for our kids.”

Barrera said he is ready to focus on the job of helping students learn more effectively.

“We see examples of schools that are delivering,” Barrera said. “The answers are all around us. The challenge for us as a state is to learn from educators in the local community about what is beating the odds and then take those practices to scale.”

Barrera speaks of an “assault” by the Trump administration on immigrant families: “I’m going to stand up to that assault.”

Barrera, who is a senior adviser to outgoing state Superintendent Tony Thurmond, praises the record of his boss.

Shaw, in contrast, once threw Thurmond out of her local school board meeting.

Lance Christensen, a conservative education analyst who ran unsuccessfully for the office four years ago against Thurmond, is ready for a spirited campaign that “is about to go nuclear.”

“Sonja Shaw pulled out an impressive primary win as an unabashed parental rights advocate while successfully running her local school district,” Christensen said.

“Should Shaw weather the political maelstrom that is about to hit her with tens of millions of dollars from the entrenched left,” he added, “she will have a bigger bully pulpit to shame the people in power who have made California’s education system the laughing-stock of the nation.”

Veteran Democratic political consultant Larry Levine predicted that, in November, Democrats will consolidate around Barrera just like Republicans did around Shaw in the primary — likely leading to a different order of finish in November.

“She consolidated the Republican vote and the Democrats spread like butter on warm bread,” Levine said. “It will be a far different story in the general. CTA will step up with the money to make sure their candidate wins.”

One of the trailing Democrats — former state Legislative leader Anthony Rendon —has already endorsed Barrera.

Rendon said that Barrera “is qualified, shares my values, and has spent his career fighting for public education. He is the candidate who will stand up to and defeat the dangerous, extremist ideology of Sonja Shaw.”

The state superintendent has limited authority over school districts, which are locally managed. The officeholder instead manages the California Department of Education. This agency guides local school districts and also provides partial oversight. The state superintendent also typically takes advantage of the bully pulpit on education issues.

The office has an uncertain future because Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing a proposal to reimagine the office and redistribute some of its duties.

The Times’ results pages reveal how Californians voted for governor, U.S. House seats and in local city, school board and ballot measure races.

Every registered voter in the state receives a ballot by mail. Polls close at 8 p.m. on June 2, and mailed ballots need to be postmarked on or before that day. Winners may not be known on election night due to the high volume of mail-in ballots arriving after election day.

The vote counts on these pages update periodically as results are reported by the Associated Press and the L.A. County registrar. On election day, those results include in-person voting as well as any mail-in ballots already received. In the days and weeks following, votes will be reported approximately once a day, as they are processed by county registrars. Voters can track their own cast ballot here.

The Associated Press surveys the numbers posted by local election officials. The AP projects the winner for all statewide and federal races using vote returns and other data. A race may be called before all expected votes are in. Results can change as more ballots are counted.

These pages will update until the secretary of state certifies results on July 10.