A woman accused of embezzling of $460 in cash. Of that nearly $75,000 from the cash, ASD reported receiving Anchorage School District only $30 -- the same amount since 2007 while working at listed on the accompanying Chugiak High School made her deposit slip, which Burge had first court appearance Friday placed in the key-locked at the Palmer courthouse. bank bag she delivered to the Alaska State Troopers district. arrested Burge, 54, Thursday Later in February, in the Mat-Su Valley on addititional funds were charges of first-degree theft, reported missing from a cash scheme to defraud and box maintained by Chugiak falsifying business records employee Gayle White, who was after Anchorage police responsible for handing obtained an arrest warrant funds from the attendance for the former ASD supply office over to Burge for clerk. transport to ASD. Police and ASD investigators Volk suspected White might believe Burge is responsible also be taking money, and APD for pocketing an estimated included her and her vehicle $74,897.60 in activity fees as targets of a search and other student payments, warrant along with Burge. mostly in cash, that she was When police interviewed Burge responsible for transporting in March, however, she said to ASD's accounting office White wasn’t involved. while she worked at Chugiak. Officers searched Burge, In court documents, Anchorage finding several bills of cash Police Department financial which had previously been crimes unit Detective Anthony photocopied and were part of Pate says Chugiak officials, transfers entrusted to her. including then-principal Rick She told them she started Volk, discovered money taking money in 2006, after missing from the school’s sustaining a work injury; at attendance office in the time she was paying for a February. lawyer in a lawsuit over the Volk told police that the injury, as well as dealing school issues receipts for with the aftermath of a house payments in triplicate, with fire and facing threats to one copy kept in the have her house taken away. attendance office, one given Pate, the detective, says he to the person making the asked Burge how much she payment and one sent with thought she’d taken from that payment to ASD Chugiak in total -- which a accounting. November forensic audit lists A student had brought in an as $13,607.25 in the 2007- $85 receipt for a credit- 2008 school year, $22,567.57 recovery class she decided in 2008-2009, $19,443.07 in not to take, but ASD 2009-2010, and $19,279.71 in accounting hadn’t received 2010-2011. the money or the receipt copy “She said she really didn’t that should have accompanied know because it was small it. The office also told Volk amounts over time,” Pate that Chugiak didn’t turn in wrote in court documents. much cash, which he thought “She guessed 7 or 8 thousand was odd. dollars. I told her we had Volk had attendance office found it to be closer to personnel conduct a spot between 15 and 20 thousand check of receipts from the each school year. She said 2010-2011 school year; they ‘It does add up then, I found four cash payments for guess.’” which ASD accounting had Burge was escorted from the received neither the cash nor school after Pate spoke with a receipt copy. He also found her, and ASD terminated her two cash payments and employment later in March. receipt copies from the At Burge's arraignment Friday, school’s activities office -- a judge said she didn't pose which also issues receipts in a danger to the community but triplicate -- that never probably won't qualify for a reached ASD accounting. court-appointed lawyer since A more extensive search of she has about $10,000 in the attendance office’s savings. She did not enter a records turned up 42 receipts, plea, and is being held on all for cash, which had $15,000 bail. never been taken to ASD -- ASD has honored all funds and neither had the attached paid by students and their funds. families, and officials say Volk began monitoring the accounting procedures have school’s deposits to ASD, been strengthened since the personally witnessing Burge embezzlement came to light. receive two transfers in Contact Ted Land at February containing a total tland@ktuu.com
Tags: arrested, Embezzlement, from, nearly, woman
