Mouthwash from a hotel gift shop. A $322 adult bean bag chair. A robot vacuum, an HR director said, was for the house. These are among the charges that piled up on Albert Einstein Academies credit cards over eight years, according to school records reviewed as the South Park charter network's former superintendent, David Sciarretta, faces mounting questions over how he spent public money.
Sciarretta, who led the K-8 charter network beginning in 2017 after previously serving as executive director and middle school principal, made most of the credit card purchases under scrutiny, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Albert Einstein Academies serves about 1,400 students across two campuses authorized under separate charters from San Diego Unified — an elementary school in South Park that opened in 2002 and a middle school in Grant Hill that opened in 2006. Sciarretta earned a $338,000 salary for fiscal year 2025 and received $98,000 in retirement compensation that year, the paper reported.
School records showed no documented board approval for Sciarretta's purchases from 2017 through 2025, even though Albert Einstein Academies policy requires that a superintendent's credit card charges be approved by the board president or treasurer, according to the Union-Tribune's review. Dozens of purchases carried no documented reason or connection to the school, the paper found.
Podcast Gear, Supplements and a Baseball Legend's Portrait
Sciarretta has purchased at least five microphones for his personal podcast, The Hangout, and spent at least $4,100 on three podcast production subscriptions, per the newspaper's review. A separate Voice of San Diego examination of 3.5 years of credit card statements found roughly $10,000 total went toward producing The Hangout, including nearly $4,000 in 2023 on branded mugs and shirts. Community members have questioned whether the podcast served any legitimate educational purpose for the charter network, the outlet reported.
Other charges, per parent complaints cited by the Union-Tribune, included at least $1,300 on a China news subscription, $549 on a meditation app subscription, and $680 on a ChatGPT subscription. Sciarretta also bought $170 in screenwriting software, a $148 Apple Pencil, and a $249 picture of baseball player Roberto Clemente. He purchased protein powder and a male-booster supplement using the card, though those items were later returned and refunded.
A Des Moines Hotel Stay and a Daughter's Commencement
In May 2025, Sciarretta spent $2,200 on two hotel rooms for three nights at the Des Moines Marriott in Iowa, using the school credit card during his daughter's college commencement, according to the newspaper. School records showed those hotel expenses were marked as personal charges. Separately, Sciarretta used the school card for travel, hotels and meals tied to WASC — the accrediting commission — though records did not indicate the school sought reimbursement for most of those apparently WASC-related expenses, even though WASC reimburses commissioners for business expenses.
Other unusual charges on school cards included $288 at Flagship Cruises in Coronado, $1,383 at a Coronado kayak, paddleboard and bike rental company, and $471 at Domino's. The school also spent more than $4,000 on flower arrangements and $80 on a sympathy bouquet for a staff member, and its cards covered a $538 Zen-art decoration and a $345 robot vacuum. In one instance, the school's HR director purchased a Roborock robotic vacuum using Sciarretta's credit card in October 2025, describing it afterward as intended for the house.
Fiscal Watchdogs Weigh In on Public Money Rules
Michael Fine said public funds must be spent for the public rather than an individual, and that the mission of serving children should guide all public school spending, according to the Union-Tribune's reporting. Under Article XVI, Section 6 of the California Constitution, public entities, including charter schools, are strictly barred from making gifts of public funds to private individuals or employees, while guidelines from the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team require full itemized receipts for every school credit card purchase. Albert Einstein Academies policy separately allows hotel reimbursement only when a stay is more than 50 miles from an employee's residence or school site.
An internal review by AEA's business services director in March found the charter school lacked a signed credit card usage policy document for Sciarretta and had inconsistently applied card training and documentation procedures in prior years, Voice of San Diego reported. Natalie Cook was among the parents who criticized Sciarretta's apparent spending on school credit cards, according to the Union-Tribune.
Resignation Follows Year of Protests and a Fired Principal
The credit card revelations landed amid a broader leadership crisis. Sciarretta faced allegations of mismanaging the school's dual-language immersion program and improperly spending school funds, and he resigned in June amid concerns about his leadership. The Albert Einstein Academies Board of Trustees voted unanimously that month to accept his resignation and execute a settlement agreement after more than a year of parent protests and media scrutiny, according to Voice of San Diego. Sciarretta had been placed on inactive status by the board in May.
Parent unrest traces back to April 2025, when families protested administrative reductions to the school's signature 50/50 English-German dual-language immersion program — the same model on which Albert Einstein Academies was founded — prompting trustees to seek charter amendments. Albert Einstein Academies requested removal of its dual-immersion program from its charter, administrators cited shortages of qualified German-speaking teachers as the primary driver, and the San Diego Unified school board approved the amendment removing the program. The charter network could have faced closure if it failed to restore dual-language immersion within 60 or 90 days, per the outlet's reporting.
Separately, former elementary principal Greta Bouterse sued Albert Einstein Academies over her November 2025 firing after 22 years at the school, alleging in a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court that she was pressured to suppress employee unionization efforts and terminated after raising internal concerns. Albert Einstein Academies filed a response denying her allegations.
District Investigation Still Open
San Diego Unified School District's investigation into Albert Einstein Academies' credit card spending was triggered by a formal complaint alleging card misuse, conflict-of-interest violations and failures to follow fiscal oversight policies, and the district has requested all of the charter network's financial records, according to Voice of San Diego. Deidre Walsh said the investigation is ongoing with no projected completion date.
Federal tax filings show Albert Einstein Academies operated as a $23.2 million enterprise in fiscal year 2025, reporting $23.2 million in total revenue against $23.6 million in total expenses while employing 262 staff members, according to nonprofit filings reviewed by Cause IQ. Albert Einstein Academies was the first public charter school in San Diego to offer a full K-8 International Baccalaureate continuum, a distinction the network has continued to promote even as its founding language program and finances have come under sustained public scrutiny.
