Last year, Brenda Burge of Wasilla, Alaska, was accused of embezzling almost $75,000 from the students of Chugiak High School. According to KTUU, on Tuesday Burge's attorney told an Anchorage judge that she has already begun repaying some of that money.
Burges was charged with theft, scheming to defraud and falsifying business records, all felonies, after Chugiak High discovered that almost $75,000 in student fees were missing. Burges was promptly fired from her job as a clerk at the school. Anchorage police claim Burge had been pocketing small amounts of money over a five-year period, starting in 2007.
Bruge, 55, agreed to pay back $60,000 to the high school as part of a plea deal, $12,000 of which she has already paid back. She was sentenced to five years probation and six months of wearing an electronic ankle monitor.
Burge was not the only Chugiak High employee to recently be accused of stealing.
In April, Gayle White was fired from Chugiak on suspicion of theft. White, 45, had previously worked at Anchorage's East High School, where a records check revealed over $100,000 in student fees were missing.
A hearing in White's case is scheduled for next month. She faces three felony charges. Police do not believe there's a connection between the two cases. The Anchorage School District has tightened its policies on handling student fees.
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