Woman Must Repay $64,000 to School Group : Agoura Hills: The former parent-faculty association treasurer had pleaded no contest to a theft charge.

A former treasurer of the parent-faculty organization at an Agoura Hills elementary school was ordered Wednesday to repay $64,000 that she embezzled from the group, court officials reported.

The loss forced the cash-strapped school district to reduce library staffing and computer training programs and trim other costs, district officials said. But parents and community members said they managed to raise enough money to partly mitigate the damage.

Mary Kathleen Stevens, 29, of Agoura Hills was ordered by Malibu Municipal Judge Lawrence Mira to repay the Yerba Buena Parent-Faculty Assn., which serves Yerba Buena School in Agoura, Court Clerk Marcie Hulett said.

Charges were brought against Stevens in August several weeks after the Las Virgenes Unified School District office in Calabasas noticed that several of the parent-faculty group’s checks had bounced.

She pleaded no contest Oct. 17 to one count of grand theft; on Nov. 17, she received a five-year suspended sentence and was ordered to spend five years in supervised probation, receive counseling and pay full restitution, Hulett said.

The amount of restitution was decided at Wednesday’s hearing, Hulett said. Stevens, who had two children attending school in the district, has already paid back $20,000, Hulett said.

Meanwhile, Yerba Buena parents set to work to raise money to preserve library, computer, art and music programs. Those programs are staffed by district employees whose salaries are paid by the association, said Donald Zimring, district assistant superintendent for business.

The organization spends about $25,000 to $30,000 a year, said association Treasurer Dave Challis, and formerly funded many special projects, such as field trips. When the money was discovered missing, the association also owed the district about $20,000 for staff salary reimbursements unpaid in the 1990-91 school year. This fall, he said the group was able to raise $50,000 through such fund-raising events as a Halloween festival, sales of wrapping paper and books, and a dinner-dance.

The school’s library aide, computer specialist and art teacher all had their hours cut, but the association was still able to hire them, Challis said.

“All of the other programs we fund we cut completely, although we did so well raising money we hope to bring all those things back,” Challis said. “We’re able to get back on our feet because of the generosity of people in the community.”

While the financial damage is being cleared up, parents are still wondering how it could have happened, said Caryn Gussin, who was president of the association when the money was embezzled.

“We’re still in shock,” Gussin said. “I don’t see how someone could take money that’s set aside for their own children.”