The police were called, but Roberts soon learned that classrooms were affected, "Different teachers began to contact us in the office, informing us their classrooms had no power, which included our 20-wing and kindergarten wing."

 

Roberts also indicated to us that the thieves also hit a different location during the heist, but what they found was not what they were looking for.

"That type of wire, insulated, could go anywhere from $170 to $210 a pound. If the thieves stripped it down, it could go as high as $280," said Steve Marriccini of Star Scrap Metal in La Mirada.

Officials hoped to have the electricity back online by late Wednesday afternoon. The school has had to do some scrambling to minimize the distraction from the curriculum, including temporarily shifting students to classrooms that have power.

This past summer, Norwalk High School was a target-with copper being stolen from air conditioning units. Other school sites in the district have reported copper-related thefts, including La Mirada High.

Norwalk-La Mirada unified School District Assistant Superintendent Estuardo Santillan explained this is nothing new, "Every school district is experiencing this problem right now. Copper is a hot commodity."