A former member of the San Andrea school board published a copy of his resignation letter on Monday, after the school launched an independent inquiry into allegations of mismanagement of potential millions.

In a Facebook post reproducing his June 2021 letter, David Wain said he was resigning after finding out that selected board members have been carrying out "paid work" for the school and that this had been going on without his knowledge.

"I decided to publish this information today only because another member has come out publicly," Wain told Times of Malta.

"All this publicity is not good for the school, but I have kept this information to myself since last year and it's too much."

Wain said the board should have launched an independent inquiry in June 2021, and not now.

Last week, the school said it had launched an independent inquiry after Trevor Templeman, a former assistant head, claimed financial irregularities to the tune of over €4 million at the private school.

Templeman went public with the allegations after claiming he was "sidelined and intimidated" by the school's management team when he flagged financial issues that were highlighted to him by school head Stefania Bartolo.

Templeman is alleging that the school's principal told him and one of the school's assistant heads, Ruth Azzopardi, that former chairperson Kevin Spiteri had defrauded the school of some  €200,000 through “miscellaneous” transactions. 

He claimed he was also told Spiteri benefited from projects totalling some €4 million.

Wain's publication of his resignation letter comes on the same day that principal Stefania Bartolo suspended herself from her post. In a letter to the students' parents, she said the decision to suspend herself pending the independent inquiry was "very difficult".

'Shock and dismay'

In his letter, Wain described feeling “shock and dismay” when he first found out that selected board members were carrying out paid work for the school. 

He said he faced strong pressure to resign from the board, including by a senior management staff.

“When this was unsuccessful, a personal campaign against a family member who is employed at the school was carried out (in the guise of restructuring) whilst this important issue was swept under the carpet," he said. 

David Wain's resignation letter. Photo: Facebook

He said he requested all board members to provide a declaration stating that they have never taken paid work from the school and if they had, to declare it.

At the time, the chairman of the board was Kevin Spiteri. 

“This request was made in line with the obligation of transparency and accountability board members owe to each other. In spite of my request and also my suggestion for a meeting to discuss this serious matter, I am yet to receive a response.”

He said board members are not entitled to receive remuneration, should avoid conflict of interest and not receive undisclosed or unauthorised profit, among other things. 

Times of Malta contacted Spiteri's lawyer, Ian Vella Galea for a comment on the resignation letter. 

"For the time being, my client shall await the outcome of the school's independent inquiry, to dispel claims being put forward. In the meantime, my client is reserving his rights with respect to such defamatory allegations," Vella Galea said.