David Sciarretta, the longtime superintendent of Albert Einstein Academies, has officially resigned.
At an emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon, the charter school’s Board President Maria Ortega announced that trustees had voted unanimously to accept Sciarretta’s resignation and enter into a settlement agreement with him. Exactly what’s being settled is unclear.
The move comes after more than a year of controversy at the charter school that gave rise to mounting frustration with Sciarretta from parents and teachers. But even as his resignation is a welcome move for those who’ve wanted him gone, some still bear misgivings about the process.
The trouble began a year ago, when parents and community members raised the alarm about what they saw as the deterioration of the charter school’s trademark German-immersion program.
Ultimately, San Diego Unified, the charter school’s authorizer, found parents’ concerns that Einstein’s program wasn’t a true dual immersion program to be true. That prompted a demand by the district for the school to fix its charter, which because of the programmatic changes, was no longer accurate.
But over the past three months, tension has significantly ratcheted up.
In March, allegations that Sciarretta improperly used thousands of district funds on projects like a personal podcast reignited calls for him to step down. Those allegations prompted officials at San Diego Unified, to launch an investigation into its financials. The charter school had already launched at least two investigations into Sciarretta’s conduct.
“The district recently received a complaint regarding AEA that includes, but is not limited to, allegations of misuse of the school’s credit card, violation of conflict of interest policies, and failure to comply with the school’s fiscal policies. Based on the complaint, the district will be conducting an investigation,” read a letter sent by district officials.
In the letter, San Diego Unified officials requested a wide range of documents, including all public records act requests received by the school, all of the charter’s financial documents and contracts, all invoices and payments to consultants and independent contractors, credit card statements and the results of third-party investigations conducted into any allegations of misuse of funds.
In April, the controversies moved to the budget. Leadership announced the charter school was facing a nearly $2 million budget deficit. Officials seem likely to lay off a handful of school staff to plug the hole. Those plans prompted new calls of mismanagement from stakeholders who’ve felt the school’s controversies over the past year have contributed to families leaving Einstein.
Back in March, I spoke to one such parent, Barbara Ecker. Her children attended Einstein for years, but she ultimately decided to pull them out because of concerns that the relationship between leadership and the community had so degraded that it would begin to seep into the classroom. She said she knew of at least 30 families who’d made a similar decision.
Between the 2024 and 2025 school years, enrollment at Einstein dropped by 54 students. While a meaningful dip, it’s not seriously out of line with rates of decline at other San Diego Unified-authorized charter schools.
But while Ecker held Sciarretta responsible for much of the deterioration, she also pointed to the board, which she feels hasn’t met the moment. She herself serves as the board president for a small preschool.
“If I had parents coming to me with concerns about our (preschool’s) director, I would be addressing those. I wouldn’t just sit there and listen with deaf ears,” Ecker said. “I don’t know how the board can just continue to ignore concerns brought up by people.”
Concerns like that are part of what led a group of teachers, parents and a board member to launch a committee aimed at bringing greater community representation to the board. Proposals include creating a seat for a parent and a teacher, though the board has not yet approved any plans.
Then in May, the president of the charter’s board, Ortega, announced in a letter to the community that Sciarretta was “on inactive status until further notice.” The vaguely worded letter did not describe who had made the decision to place Sciarretta on inactive status. It also included a disclaimer that the letter was “not intended to convey any negative message or criticism regarding any employee whatsoever.”
Similarly, Wednesday’s resignation agreement raises some as-of yet unanswered questions about what the settlement agreement entails. Einstein’s board did not indicate if the investigations into Sciarretta had substantiated misconduct, or even if they’d been completed. School officials also did not respond to questions about what, if anything, the investigations had yielded or the circumstances surrounding Sciarretta’s resignation.
For some, it feels like one more question mark in a saga rife with them.
“We really don’t know what this means. Does a settlement mean he’s getting a payout?” Sabrina Bochen, a parent who’s been vocal about her desire to see change at the top of Einstein wondered. “This had to happen for the school to move forward and it’s been very frustrating to the school community that board haven’t acted more forcefully.”
