School clerk sentenced for embezzlement

WASILLA — A Wasilla woman arrested last year for allegedly stealing from Chugiak High School will repay $60,000.

According to KTUU, Brenda Burge entered an agreement Monday to pay the school back everything she took. Burge allegedly pocketed fees students paid the school going back to 2007.

Burge was initially charged with theft, scheming to defraud, and falsifying business records. She eventually pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to six months wearing an ankle monitor, KTUU said. She will be on probation for five years.

Burge was not the only Chugiak High School clerk fired over allegations she stole $5,000 worth of student fees.

Gayle White, 45, also a Wasilla resident, was charged and convicted last year. She finished out her prison sentence, was released and then in April charged with similar crimes relating to the time she worked at Anchorage’s East High School prior to Chugiak. Prosecutors allege she took $100,000 from East. That second case is still pending.