#Miami schools chief who spurned NYC to take Los Angeles job

The Miami schools administrator who famously reneged on a deal to become city schools chancellor during a live televised meeting in 2018 is heading west.

Alberto Carvalho, charismatic superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, has accepted an offer to lead the Los Angeles Unified School District.

In a spectacle that etched itself in city political lore, Mayor Bill de Blasio had expected Carvalho to formally accept his chancellorship offer during a televised meeting of Miami school officials.

But Carvalho appeared to waver in real-time as the gathering progressed.

To dramatic applause, Carvalho finally told the rapt audience that he couldn’t ignore the pleas of Miami kids and parents to remain in his post.

Carvalho would later reveal that he delayed announcing his final change of heart during the meeting because he couldn’t get Hizzoner on the horn.

But the lure of Los Angeles appears to have finally convinced the suave superintendent to detach from Dade.

“For the last three decades, I have selflessly dedicated my professional career to the children of Miami’s diverse community, and I am hoping to bring that same passion, compassion and commitment to the students and families in L.A. Unified,” Carvalho said in a statement.

Carvalho’s astonishing exit led de Blasio to offer then Houston superintendent Richard Carranza the DOE gig.

Citing the loss of loved ones to COVID-19, Carranza resigned from the role earlier this year and he now works in the private sector in San Antonio.

De Blasio’s former press secretary, Eric Phillips, waxed nostalgic on Twitter Thursday after hearing of Carvalho’s new gig.

“A school superintendent in the hand is worth two Carvalhos in the bush, I’ve always found,” Phillips said.