LAUSD Board’s Oversight Failure

“But on its face, plaintiffs raise some issues that I think the district needs to take seriously and take a look at."

— Hon. Rupert A. Byrdsong, Judge hearing Beutner's lawsuit against the LAUSD

Nobody could ever call suspended LAUSD Superintendent passive. Earning his nickname “Mr. Hollywood,” Alberto Carvalho has an active social media presence and a penchant for grabbing the spotlight, especially when highlighting interactions with celebrities. Community members have claimed that his school visits are highly staged and meant to enhance visuals. In one instance, school community members said district staff spent a week polishing their campus—including having landscapers lay fresh bark in the planters—only for that bark and other improvements to be discarded once Carvalho left.

This carefully curated, flash‑over‑substance public persona has fueled allegations that Carvalho’s ego often eclipses the district's work. That dynamic has been on full display in his public feud with his predecessor, Austin Beutner—a conflict that escalated after Carvalho moved to dismantle Primary Promise, one of Beutner’s signature initiatives that the district had previously touted for its documented successes.

The feud intensified after Beutner authored PROP-28 and successfully persuaded voters to pass it. The two have repeatedly clashed over its implementation in Los Angeles. Yet, Carvalho continues to insist that he understands the law’s requirements better than Beutner—even though Beutner wrote it. If critics are looking for evidence of ego, they often point to this moment.

Unable to convince Carvalho to follow the terms of PROP-28, Beutner joined district parents in a lawsuit against the LAUSD. Rather than backing down, Carvalho—supported by the School Board—has chosen to fight the lawsuit. The district claims it lacks sufficient funds to expand arts education as required by the law, yet it has found ample resources to mount a legal defense. For critics, it’s a revealing contrast in a district that so often invokes the slogan “Kids First.”

One of the central disagreements between Carvalho and the author of PROP-28 concerns the law’s requirement that these new funds supplement—rather than supplant—existing spending for arts education. Carvalho has publicly insisted that all PROP-28 dollars are being used exclusively for new programs. Yet, correspondence he sent to Board members suggests otherwise, raising questions about whether the district is backfilling prior obligations with money voters intended to expand arts instruction.

In a Board Informative dated August 15, 2024, Carvalho wrote that “the District prioritized the use of PROP-28 funds to cover existing staff as well as hire new staff.” (Emphasis mine.) This statement amounts to a direct acknowledgment that the district used PROP-28 dollars to support positions that were already being funded—precisely the kind of supplanting the measure was designed to prevent. For critics, it’s a clear contradiction of what voters were promised when they approved the proposition.

With this information in hand, the elected School Board members knew—months before Beutner filed his lawsuit last February—that Carvalho was not following the law. In the interest of serving the children of Los Angeles, they could have insisted that the Superintendent meet with his predecessor and take the steps necessary to bring the district into compliance. Instead, they abdicated their oversight responsibility and allowed the issue to fester.

Carvalho’s sidelining by federal investigators gives the School Board a renewed opportunity to reassert its legally mandated role as the district’s policymaking body. At the most basic level, that means ensuring the district follows the law as written by Beutner and approved by voters regarding how PROP-28 funds are spent. It is long past time for the Board to resolve this dispute and move the district forward.

“You still have time to get things right to satisfy the will of the people by the passing of this proposition."

— Hon. Rupert A. Byrdsong