Alberto Carvalho reneges on taking job as NYC schools chancellor

The Florida educator who’d accepted the New York City public schools chancellorship abruptly declared Thursday — on live television — that he was “honor-bound” to stay in Miami after locals begged.

Mayor Bill de Blasio found out in real time that his pick, Alberto M. Carvalho — a homeless undocumented immigrant who rose to lead the nation’s fourth largest school system — was reneging on his agreement to oversee the largest.

“I am breaking an agreement between adults to honor an agreement and a pact I have with the children of Miami,” Carvalho said during an hourslong emergency meeting of the Miami-Dade County school board, where a succession of locals heaped praise on his decadelong tenure.

“I shall remain in Miami-Dade as your superintendent,” said Carvalho, to cheers.

Hours later, at a hastily called news conference at City Hall, de Blasio said his nationwide search to replace Carmen Fariña had already restarted.

Fariña, in the post since 2014, said in December she would retire but stay on the job until a successor was named. He would not say who else is being considered.

De Blasio thought Carvalho was the “right candidate” — according to Miami New Times, graduation rates under his watch jumped to 80.4 percent from 60.5 percent — and offered a salary of $353,000, to match his Miami salary — nearly $120,000 more than Fariña’s base pay.

De Blasio said Carvalho agreed last week to accept the post, had discussed the release of the news Wednesday night, and de Blasio was “surprised” to take Carvalho’s call during the board meeting.

“If he wasn’t interested in the job, I don’t know why he’d fly up here several times and have incessant conversations about all the details and agreed to the release of the information publicly,” de Blasio said.

At Thursday’s hourslong board meeting in Miami, Carvalho let speculation build by hinting he might change his mind.

He recounted his time in Miami. He affirmed how he wants to protect immigrants and resist President’s Donald Trump’s idea to arm teachers. He boasted how many congratulatory text messages and phone calls he’d received over the New York City news.

Then Carvalho abruptly requested an adjournment of 5 minutes, which stretched to more than 20 minutes, when he returned to say he needed to “do what is right” and call de Blasio.

In English and Spanish, Carvalho cited his inspiration: an obligation to two young Miami students living in the country illegally who felt they’d be vulnerable without him.

Carvalho, a Portuguese native, moved to America after high school in the 1980s and, as he’s acknowledged, stayed illegally. He worked jobs in construction and slept in a friend’s truck, according to news accounts.

The spectacle of a personnel decision affecting the fates of 1.1 million students’ educations had unfolded on live television: Press aides crammed into the room where City Hall reporters work, sitting on desks to watch the drama on cable TV. And when Carvalho revealed he wouldn’t take the job, a de Blasio spokeswoman covered her face; a spokesman raised his hands to his head.

In a series of tweets, de Blasio’s press secretary, Eric Phillips, wrote:

“Carvalho backed out. He won’t be coming to NYC. There is . . . never a dull moment in our great city.”

“He was a Yes for a week+, until he was a No 15 minutes ago. Bullet dodged.”

“Who would ever hire this guy again?” Phillips tweeted, hinting at Carvalho’s rumored Congressional run. “Who would ever vote for him?”

Asked about the tweet storm, de Blasio said: “I would not have said it that way . . . I’m not surprised that people expressed their frustration in the heat of the moment.”

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.