The LA Unified School District (LAUSD) has been in trouble for a long time, despite the complacency of its leadership. But Alberto Carvalho, we were told, would be different — professional, accountable, reliable.

How wrong that was.

Carvalho resigned in late June, following an FBI raid in February that was apparently part of a fraud and corruption investigation into a botched artificial intelligence (AI) contract.

Now a secret letter reveals that the board had accused Carvalho of using district resources for his own personal benefit. It also accused him of accepting unreported gifts seeking outside income, despite his hefty $440,000 salary.

The letter came after the raid and two weeks before the resignation. 

The board might have been looking for excuses to get rid of Carvalho, who had been on paid leave, hiding out at home for months until The California Post spotted him.

The downside: Now the board has no one left to blame for its mistakes.

Four days after they sent their letter to Carvalho, every board member received an ominous letter from the LA County Office of Education.

The letter warned them that if they approved the big pay raise unions had demanded earlier in the year, the district would face “severe” financial problems.

But LAUSD approved the pay hikes anyway. And as for Carvalho — well, he didn’t need another reason to leave.

Carvalho has his own battles to fight. He left a mess behind — but the LAUSD board can’t blame him anymore. They own it, after approving that pay raise.

The district is now only days away from a 45-day deadline to submit a revised budget by Friday. If it fails, the county has the power to take control of the district’s finances.

It is a massive embarrassment for the LAUSD board and its members. 

In June, when LAUSD approved the pay hikes, it issued a press release in which board members fell all over themselves to take credit for the decision. 

It’s easier to win applause from unions than to balance the budget.

Board president Scott M. Schmerelson crowed: “Our commitment to our labor partners remains constant.” At least he admitted that the district was “facing financial challenges.”

Other board members, like Tanya Ortiz Franklin, didn’t bother. She said that the raises would help staff who were “struggling to make ends meet.” 

How about the district making its own ends meet, for a change?