ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A former St. Louis-area school superintendent accused of misappropriating district money was ordered Monday to serve five years probation and pay more than $100,000 in restitution.

Henry Williams, 67, was led away in handcuffs after Monday's hearing to begin serving 30 days of shock time in the St. Louis County Jail as a condition of his probation.

Williams pleaded no contest in September to two counts of felony theft and three counts of tax fraud while he was superintendent of the Riverview Gardens School District.

He denied wrongdoing but admitted a jury was likely to convict him after it heard the facts.

Authorities said he converted more than $25,000 in district funds for personal use. He was also accused of double dipping on travel expenses and underreporting his income for three years.

Circuit Judge Maura McShane sentenced Williams to 10 years in prison but immediately suspended the prison sentence. He faced up to 37 years in prison.

Wes Walters, who teaches American history and government at Riverview Gardens High School, said Monday that he and other faculty members who wrote letters to the judge seeking justice for the district were "disappointed" and "flabbergasted" by the sentence.

"This man literally destroyed the school district," he said. "Somebody felt sorry for him."

In Williams' time at Riverview Gardens, the district has suffered high teacher turnover and lost more than $12 million in reserves and its accreditation. Many families have moved out of the district.

"It's sad," said Walters, president of the school district's chapter of the state teachers' association. "I graduated from here. I've been teaching here for 28 years. I've been involved with this district since I was 5 years old.

"It makes me sick to my stomach to see what this man did to our district."

He said a teenage burglar who got away with $500 would serve more time than Williams got.

Williams' attorney, Thomas Carter, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

The state Board of Education classified Riverview Gardens as unaccredited in June 2007, based on student performance.

Under the district's previous superintendent, Riverview Gardens had reached full accreditation, said Ginny Vandelicht, director of school improvement support for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Williams served as superintendent from July 2002 to July of 2007. He was fired by the board.

Before arriving at Riverview Gardens, Williams was a superintendent in Syracuse, N.Y., Little Rock, Ark., and Kansas City, Mo.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)