Over the past year, Albert Einstein Academies has been beset with turmoil, with some staff and community members repeatedly calling for the ouster of Superintendent David Sciarretta. Now, some have raised Sciarretta’s spending on his Einstein-issued credit card as a potential reason to force his dismissal.
Statements obtained by Voice of San Diego show that over a three-and-a-half-year period, Albert Einstein Academies Superintendent David Sciarretta spent tens of thousands of dollars via his Einstein-issued credit card. Many charges seem run-of-the-mill. To some in the Einstein community, others raise questions.
Sciarretta spent nearly $6,000 on software and subscription services to run his podcast. Nearly $4,000 on custom mugs, shirts, drawstring bags and business cards. And nearly $700 in subscription fees to a Substack newsletter pitched as helping readers “get smarter about China.”
“It’s public money that’s being used for these types of activities that are personal or hobbies,” said Sabrina Bochen, a parent of Einstein students. “It’s extremely disappointing, especially because this school hasn’t been doing financially well in the last couple of years.”
A board member confirmed that an investigation into Sciarretta’s spending is ongoing. But the allegations of improper spending are just the latest front in community members’ battle to oust Sciarretta.
Tensions first arose about a year ago, when parents pushed back against changes to the elementary school’s trademark German language program, as Voice reported. Many were furious because they believed the school’s 50/50 dual-immersion program had been watered down. San Diego Unified, the school’s authorizing district, found those claims to be true and determined the district was operating outside its contractual charter. San Diego Unified officials demanded the school fix the violations.
Late last year, tensions reached a new high with the abrupt firing of Einstein’s beloved principal. The community focused its ire on Sciarretta, leading to a petition calling for his removal that garnered more than 500 signatures.
Sciarretta did not respond to multiple interview requests.
Bob Ottilie, a local attorney with experience in public misconduct cases, said the expenses aren’t a smoking gun, but they are concerning.
“The charges sure raise a lot of questions and the questions that are raised provide a good reminder to all taxpayers that when you’re dealing with public funds you’ve got to have accountability because the minute you don’t, you lose the trust of everybody,” Ottilie said.
In an email, Brad Baquial, Einstein’s director of business services, wrote school officials have reviewed the expenses on Sciarretta’s credit card. The school requires those issued a credit card to sign a policy outlining the guidelines for their use, but officials did not have a copy of the document signed by Sciarretta.
“Based on our review, training and documentation practices related to this procedure were not applied consistently in prior years,” he wrote.
One of the most notable expenses is thousands spent on Sciarretta’s podcast, The Hangout.
Over the course of 2023, Sciarretta spent nearly $4,000 on podcast merch. In the past three years he’s spent nearly $6,000 on software to edit the podcast and monthly subscriptions for services that host and distribute it and an additional $2,000 on recording gear.
Sciarretta also spent more than $2,500 on books written by authors who’ve appeared on his podcast. Some receipts show he purchased as many as 20 or 30 copies. In one instance, he seems to have shipped $710 in books to his home.
Sciarretta first launched his podcast in 2022 as The Superintendent’s Hangout and initially focused almost exclusively on education issues. In the years since, its focus has shifted to include guests with more mixed backgrounds. Those include Reza Aslan, author of best-selling books about Jesus and the history of Islam, as well as a doctor who specializes in a cardiac surgery that replaces ailing human hearts with the hearts of pigs.
Einstein’s guidelines specifically prohibit using a school-issued credit card on any personal expenses.
In an email, Baquial wrote that the podcast was “developed in connection with a superintendent evaluation goal related to communication and community engagement.” But in a disclaimer featured at the end of recent episodes, Sciarretta notes that the podcast is “entirely separate from my day job and as such, all opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.” He does not, however, mention what his day job is.
School officials repeatedly promoted the podcast on the charter’s Instagram page, but in its more than 100 episodes, Einstein staff and former students are featured in only a few. Descriptions of the podcast on streaming services like Spotify and Apple podcasts include no mention of the school.
Sciarretta also racked up thousands in expenses for subscriptions to media and news services – nearly $1,836 for the Wall Street Journal, $700 for ChatGPT, $672 for Sinocism, a Substack exploring Chinese political policy, $538 for a premium LinkedIn subscription and $331 for Headspace, a meditation app.
Sciarretta seems to have known the policies well. In fact, he outlined them in a March 2019 memo to staff.
“All funds received by AEA are public funds and must be used exclusively to support the educational mission,” he wrote. “The litmus test to determine whether an expenditure is appropriate is to ask, ‘Would the tax-paying public view this expenditure as necessary to support public education?’ If you are considering whether the expenditure is appropriate or not, it is likely inappropriate.”
Sciarretta is one of the highest paid superintendents in San Diego County. In 2024, he made $332,000 a year to oversee Einstein, which is comprised of an elementary and middle school that serve 1,448 students. During that same year, Moises Aguirre received $290,000 in base pay to run Sweetwater Union High School District, which has nearly 30 schools and 34,282 students.
Ultimately, the charges are relatively small potatoes compared to other high-profile instances of credit card misuse, Ottilie said, but any dollar potentially wasted is too much. All public entities should be expected to prove that any expenses made are actually in the interest of the people that agency serves, he added.
“If the podcast is benefiting the public, they ought to share how. The same thing goes for any media. I don’t have any problem with him reading the Wall Street Journal, but is he reading it for his job?” Ottilie said.
But it’s not just the money Sciarretta’s spent that frustrates parents like Bochen, it’s the potential time he’s spent on projects like the podcast. Together, it all indicates to her that Sciarretta is not the person to lead Einstein out of the divisive morass the charter has become enmeshed in.
“He’s the leader of the organization. Part of his job is to bring the community together when there are challenges or issues and he definitely has not done that,” Bochen said. “I’m really hoping we’ll see some sort of decisive action from our board.”
The board launched an investigation into the allegations of misspending after school community members reported their concerns. This is the second investigation into Sciarretta’s behavior launched over the past year, though exactly what prompted the first investigation is unclear.
In an emailed statement, board Vice President Christiana Gauger wrote that the board was aware of the allegations of misspending and takes the claims seriously.
“The board can assure its stakeholders that appropriate action is being taken in response to the allegations. Should any evidence exist concerning the misuse of public funds, the board will remediate the issue as necessary,” Gauger wrote.
Fellow Trustee Christopher Beesley confirmed the investigation but said he was unable to comment on specifics.
‘Unreliable, Invalid and Serving to Protect the Superintendent’
Some parents and teachers who want Sciarretta out say he is protected by the board’s structure.
Unlike traditional school district boards, community members do not vote on board trustees – only trustees do. According to the board’s bylaws, “Trustees shall be selected and appointed by the trustees holding office” — meaning Einstein’s board trustees nominate and confirm themselves.
And unlike some charter boards, Einstein also does not guarantee a board seat for a parent or community member. That frustrated parents and staff. In response, Beesley launched an ad hoc committee on shared governance, to which Bochen has been appointed.
Sarah Peterson, a longtime educator and parent of three children who attended Einstein, is another of the committee’s members. She thinks the root of the tension between leadership at Einstein and those in the community has been driven primarily by the lack of stakeholder representation on the board.
“The lack of shared governance has compounded this energy that anything that comes out of a board trustee’s mouth is unreliable, invalid and serving to protect the superintendent,” Peterson said.
That’s why her goal is to try to reconfigure the board to guarantee parent, teacher and even student voices are represented. But even as she’s been reassured by the board’s creation of the committee, she’s been disappointed by what she views as a lack of proactive action in the face of concerns about Sciarretta. Ultimately, Peterson thinks Sciarretta shouldn’t be the one to continue to lead Einstein.
“A leader’s job is, first, to listen, then unite and cohere different stakeholders and learning partners towards a shared vision and mission. That has not been my experience with Sciarretta,” Peterson said. “At a minimum, he should be on administrative leave during this investigation, and the fact that he’s not is incredibly alarming.”
I’m afraid this will be the tip of the iceberg here. Unfortunately, charters have to have ethical guidelines and open books—otherwise curriculum, culture, and results all depend on the moral fiber of one person and the echo chamber of board members they appoint. Also, as a parent of a former student who attended occasional meetings, it’s apt that to find a picture of Sciaretta they had to go back nearly a year! He’s missed more meetings than he’s attended, and forced “closed door” sessions for anything of importance. The last open board meeting I went to, he sneaked in though the back door!! So cringe and zero aura, as the kids say.
Why is he still there? He misused funds meant for children. He gives promotions to women he slept with. He dismantled the German Immersion program. He destroyed the schools reputation. He fired two principals without cause for not falling in line. He has no oversight over unqualified special ed leaders. He lost trust of community. He hasn’t shown up for graduations. He gave himself a 340k salary. He paid his teacher the lowest salaries. He bullies his employees and parents. He doesn’t know the parents or employees or students. He is an ego driven politician. He pays others to do his work. He is under investigation and facing lawsuits. He has 500 people ssign a vote of no confidence. He is the still the superintendent. Why?!
I worked under David when he was just the MS Principal. Anyone who was there during that time knows the chaos
David is the worst leader I have ever worked under. Decisions were impulsive, communication was nonexistent, and staff were constantly left cleaning up the mess after whatever new idea he decided to chase that week. Teachers were expected to stretch every dollar and somehow make miracles happen for students while leadership seemed far more interested in their own image.
What made it even harder was the constant drama surrounding him. His personal life was the kind of soap opera that somehow always managed to spill into the workplace. Staff gossip was unavoidable because the rumors were constantly being fueled by his own behavior. At one point his ex-wife’s Facebook posts were practically required reading in the teacher’s lounge
Meanwhile teachers were buying supplies with their own money and trying to protect students from the instability at the top.
The saddest part is that AEA has incredible teachers, families, and students who deserved far better leadership. Instead, many of us watched a great school slowly get dragged through unnecessary drama and poor decisions.
No one is shocked by this article we are all just wondering how the board had their eye closed for 20 years? I brought up concerns when he was still just a principal. I was told to keep my mouth closed by David. I was told by a board member that I was lucky to work under Sciarretta…
Look at you Maria. You’ve been on the board for as long as its existed.
How in bed with David are you? That you’re willing to put him over the welfare of children.
You and David both disgust me
Somehow we live in a world where if something is not a smoking gun it’s not a problem. The small things are
often worse. A sh$t stain is far less problematic than a smoking gun but if that stain is on you. It’s a problem.
Yeah… he is sleeping with staff and creating positions for them too! Despicable, narcissistic man. There are teachers at this school who can’t pay for materials, and families who deserve better support and resources than what is currently provided to them, if any. People are scrambling to pick up the pieces of a broken system that only benefits him, and those in his corner.