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Central Basin Water District President James Roybal pictured at a CBMWD meeting earning money when he should be home. Randy Economy Photo
Staff Report
HMG–CN Publisher Brian Hews received a subpoena from the United Teachers of Los Angles attorneys relating to documents obtained through a public records request on Central Basin Municipal Water Director James Roybal and his “Teacher Jail” status, documents that could dramatically alter a UTLA lawsuit against LAUSD demanding more information on teachers remanded to the now infamous teacher jail facilities.
Hews was ordered to appear by UTLA attorney Dana Martinez, partner at Holguin, Garfield, Martinez, and Quinonez, at the Public Employee Relations Board in Glendale this past February 7 to testify in the matter of UTLA v. LAUSD.
HMG-CN was first to publish that CBMWD Director Roybal was remanded to teacher jail and that Roybal was violating LAUSD policy by going to work at CBMWD immediately after attending teacher jail.
Based on those HMG-CN revelations, the LAUSD Office of Inspector General is now investigating Roybal for violations.
The documents were obtained December 12 and December 17 from the LAUSD Office of General Counsel. The OGC declined to answer two questions but did answer that Roybal “was reassigned on February 20, 2013 to the Education Service Center East.”
Teachers continue to earn a paycheck when they are remanded to teacher jail. They must go to the service center for two hours, then immediately go home.
HMG obtained documents through another public records request that showed Roybal earning in excess of $45,000 from CBMWD after he was remanded to teacher jail.
UTLA has been fighting LAUSD asking for documents describing what violations teachers who are in teacher jail committed. LAUSD has refused to give those documents to UTLA, so UTLA filed the lawsuit.
When HMG-CN published its story with the letter from LAUSD pertaining to Roybal, the UTLA issued the subpoena on Hews.
Hews said, “it was a very short stay on the witness stand. The UTLA attorney asked me a few questions and the LAUSD attorney asked me a few questions and that was it. But from the questions they asked, this document that was sent to HMG-CN could alter the lawsuit UTLA has against LAUSD to obtain teacher jail documents.”
Hews continued, “I knew when I got the document telling me that Roybal was in teacher jail that somebody had made a mistake. The attorneys for UTLA saw the online story and subpoenaed me to bring the documents. I know the attorneys for UTLA were very happy to see that document.”
Roybal continues to blatantly violate LAUSD policy by showing up at CBMWD for board meetings, the most recent one was this past Monday February 26.
My comment about this story might have nothing to do with water, but Mr. Roybal was a teacher at Garfield High School a few years ago and I was aware of at least two students he was accused of harrassing. I don’t know why he wasn’t fired then but he was transfered to Wilson that summer.
I knew one of the guys that Roybal hit on pretty good. He said Mr. Roybal would help him with his homework and would take him to eat after school. He says he would buy him shirts and shoes too. I don’t know the other guy he was after, but I think he was younger than my friend. A few of my friends say that that boy was gay and thatn his parents took him out of school. I hear Mr.Roybal paid them money to shut up. I hope the school district finally fires him. He wasn’t never a good teacher and no students actually like him. Some students say he had magazines in his backpack and went crazy one time when some kids hide it under his desk.