By Randy Economy
It has not been a good week for embattled Central Basin Municipal Water District Director James Roybal after two-dozen protesters urged that he resign from office due to his current status as an inmate in the notorious “Teachers Jail” program with his employer the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Protestors gathered in front 2151 North Soto Street at the site of where “Teachers Jail” is housed inside the Los Angeles Education Services Office East.
Hews Media Group-Community Newspapers was the first to break the details of Roybal’s enrollment in the highly controversial program November of last year.
At least two units from the Los Angeles Police Department were deployed to the scene of the peaceful protest against Roybal on Monday. No arrests were made, and no one was cited. A handful of administrators who oversee the Teacher Jail Program were also seen observing the activities of Roybal’s protestors.
Two hours after the protest, the sign carrying marchers travelled to nearby Commerce to attend the Central Basin Water District meeting to confront Roybal and to demand his immediate resignation from the five-member board.
Roybal did not attend Monday’s meeting.
Ronald Beilke, a former administrator with Central Basin Water District attended the protest and told HMG-CN directly by stating, “Having experienced Jim Roybal’s irresponsible rage and excessive alcohol consumption first hand, I have no doubt whatever offenses he committed to be reassigned for over a year to teacher’s jail are serious.”
“But beyond that, the fact that he has defrauded LAUSD by collecting a second salary of $30,000 plus benefits from Central Basin is criminal and a further abuse of the children of the school district. LAUSD has been paying him his full workday salary while his paid water district meetings overlapped. He was President for over a year and could have rescheduled meetings to hours that would have prevented this, but chose not to do so,” Belike said
Another protestor who only identified himself as “Mario” was also direct in his comments about Roybal. “It’s hard for Roybal to be in two places at the same time. It is probably more important for him to be at Teacher Jail instead of doing his job as an elected official,” he quipped.