June 2012
Students Of Oakland School Keep Panhandling As Scrutiny Grows
OAKLAND (CBS 5) — The state is taking action against the Oakland Unified School District, because of a private religious school that has been taking taxpayer money, while students are sent out to panhandle.
A joint CBS 5 and California Watch investigation found Saint Andrew Missionary Baptist School inflating attendance numbers to get federal funds. Meanwhile, students are still out on the streets asking for money.
It’s turning into a nasty finger-pointing battle to discover who is responsible for the private school, which is located in West Oakland.
Multiple state and local agencies are scrambling to find out how the private school has remained open and how it received federal funding, despite the ongoing scrutiny.
The CBS 5 investigation started two years ago when we spoke with the panhandling kids and they told us that they were being mistreated by the school leaders. Since then, we have teamed up with California Watch to follow the money trail.
Last week, a CBS 5 undercover camera discovered that the students were still out panhandling at Oakland’s busy Rockridge BART station. School pastor Robert Lacy Sr. was seen in his pressed suit, watching from the shadows. When he saw our producer, he said, “Are you taking pictures of us? I’m gonna call the police if you are.”
The last time we saw Lacy and his son Robert Lacy Jr., they didn’t want to talk to us either. It was just outside the Oakland Unified School Board’s building on June 13th. CBS 5 caught up with them after an emotional meeting, during which angry parents of former Saint Andrew students blasted the school district for its lack of action.
After the parents complained of abuse and neglect, the district launched an investigation. According to Oakland Unified School Board member Noel Gallo, the district will stop funding to Saint Andrew if it finds that the federal funds were misused.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/06/25/students-of-oakland-school-keep-panhandling-as-scrutiny-grows/
2012
Oakland Schools sending children to panhandle at BART
OAKLAND (CBS 5) — A joint CBS 5 and California Watch investigation into an Oakland school that sends students out panhandling at BART stations has prompted the transit agency to take action.
The children have become a fixture at the stations, soliciting commuters daily, often during school hours and even after dark.
Meanwhile, the school’s pastor has ignored a request from Oakland school officials to prove he is not falsifying attendance records. And it appears he may be attempting a cover-up, going door-to-door trying to recruit more students for his school.
14-year old Acacia said she was out in her driveway last week when a stranger drove up. Acacia told CBS 5 the man asked him for her name and number.
The man introduced himself as Pastor Robert Lacy, the same Pastor Lacy that has been dodging our cameras for months.
Acacia said the man was going door to door in her neighborhood. “He was trying to get more students to come to his school and participate,” she said.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/07/21/bart-targets-panhandling-oakland-school-students/
