A group of unions supporting Mayor Heather Fargo for re-election is blitzing Sacramento radio with ads that twist the truth about a federal investigation into rival Kevin Johnson's management of his St. HOPE organization.

The ads, funded in part by the California Teachers Association, assert that federal funds for reading programs and school lunches have been cut off to St. HOPE's Sacramento Charter High School and PS 7, its K-8 school.

School officials say this is not the case.

"At this point we have not received any confirmation that the schools have been affected," said Maria Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento City Unified School District.

Dylan Besk, a Hiram Johnson High School teacher, asserts in the ad that "investigators shut down all federal funds for Johnson's schools."

Another teacher, Linda Hogg-Wood of Thomas Jefferson Elementary, says there's no longer federal funding going to reading programs or lunches for low-income students at St. HOPE schools.

"Clearly, these ads are untrue," said Rick Maya, head of St. HOPE Public Schools, where 65 percent of the 1,500 students receive free or reduced price lunch.

"We've seen no stop in federal funding, and no query about a stop in federal funding," Maya said. "We just got an installment last week, and we anticipate one in the next couple of weeks as well."

"I think they've crossed the line," he said. "Now they're putting fear into our students and our parents, and that's uncalled for and it's unacceptable."

Teacher Hogg-Wood tells listeners that Johnson "runs two Sacramento charter schools that federal investigators have cited for serious financial misconduct."

The federal investigation centered on Johnson's St. HOPE Academy, which administers an urban Peace Corps-style program called the Hood Corps.

Last month, as a result of the federal investigation, both Johnson and St. HOPE Academy were placed on the list of people and organizations barred from receiving federal funds or contracts. The suspension could last up to a year.

The federal AmeriCorps agency has referred its findings to the U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento, which has yet to act on them.

The AmeriCorps agency cited numerous violations of St. HOPE's Hood Corps grant. In its contract with AmeriCorps, federal investigators said, St. HOPE agreed that volunteers would tutor students, redevelop one building a year in Oak Park and help in marketing and operations at the organization's theater and art gallery.

Instead, investigators said, St. HOPE supplemented salaries at its schools by enrolling two employees in the AmeriCorps program, used volunteers to drive Johnson to personal appointments and wash his car, and enlisted AmeriCorps participants to serve in clerical and janitorial positions in the schools.

AmeriCorps participants also were used to campaign for school board candidates, a banned activity.

The new ads are funded by a group that includes the California Teachers Association, the Sacramento Building Trades Council, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 340, the Northern California Carpenters regional council and Operating Engineers Local 3, which represents most Sacramento city employees.

Records filed with the Sacramento City Clerk's Office show the groups have contributed $63,000 so far, with the bulk of the money – $48,000 – coming from the teachers association.

Sandra Lowe, a government relations specialist for CTA, said the ads will run on as many as eight Sacramento stations, and will cost a total of about $100,000.

"We'd like to keep this ad on the air until Election Day," she said at a Thursday morning press conference. "People are making up their minds. We need to refresh their memory about the things that are in doubt about this candidate."

Asked whether the ads were accurate, she said the continued stream of federal funding to St. HOPE remains "in doubt."

Fargo is endorsed by a number of local teachers unions. The Sacramento City Teachers Association has been a vocal critic of Johnson's management of Sacramento Charter High School, which uses nonunion teachers.

Fargo said Thursday that she didn't know the ad was coming and hadn't heard it. State law allows outside groups to fund independent expenditure campaigns, but they are forbidden from coordinating with candidates.

"I guess a lot of us have been asking similar questions about (Johnson's) ability to manage funds," Fargo said.

It is the second time that a union group has jumped into the Sacramento mayor's race with a hard-hitting attack on Johnson. In the mayoral primary, the Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 447 spent about $122,000 on mail pieces, a phone bank and a Web site slamming Johnson over allegations – never proven – that he inappropriately touched teenage girls in Phoenix and Sacramento.

Call The Bee's Mary Lynne Vellinga, (916) 321-1094.