LAKESIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — Parents and the school board president in Lakeside are demanding action after discovering dozens of registered sex offenders living not far from schools.
Generally, schools and parents aren't notified when a sex offender moves nearby a school.
"I believe there is a clear and present danger threatening our kids- sexual predators living near schools," said Andrew Hayes, Lakeside Union School District President.
A call to action after a quick search on California's Megan's Law website shows more than 50 registered sex offenders live nearby three Lakeside Union schools.
"My first thought is, 'how am I going to protect my child? How am I going to protect all the children?'" said Kiki Parson, PTA president at Lakeview Elementary School.
Parsons has been a Lakeside Union parent for 13 years.
"They're people. They do deserve to have a place to live but not in eyeshot of a playground," said Parsons.
The school board president Andrew Hayes is now creating a coalition of leaders and parents to create solutions for concerns like notifying school districts about nearby sex offenders, sex offender safety plans and limits on how close an offender can live to a school.
As part of Megan's Law, offenders are listed on an online registry, but notifications to schools and parents aren't generally required but could be on a case-by-case basis.
"I wanna make sure that we are involved in protecting our families and that our parents have peace of mind," said Hayes.
Hayes said he has reached out to local politicians to demand legislation to increase regulations for sex offenders.
While no local politicians have reached back out to the school board, they're hopeful that one will. They say it doesn't have to be someone here in San Diego County. It can be a leader from anywhere in the State of California.
In the meantime, Hayes said he's meeting with PTA leaders to ensure they notify other parents about sex offenders in their area.
