An independent inquiry is to be launched into claims, made by a former assistant head, of financial mismanagement at the private San Andrea school.

The school board decided to set up a board of inquiry after former assistant head Trevor Templeman went public with a series of claims of financial mismanagement to the tune of over €4 million.

Templeman claims a senior figure made some €200,000 in “miscellaneous” transactions and that a former member of staff was paid €25,000 to keep quiet.

He claims there was also a questionable contract to rent a property belonging to a person linked to the school.

Templeman is alleging he was supplied the information by an individual in the school’s senior management team.

Assistant head took claims to board of trustees

The former assistant head claims he resigned from the Mġarr school in October “to safeguard [his] history of employment” after he was sidelined and “intimidated” because he had taken the financial mismanagement claims to the school’s board members as well as the board of trustees. He had served at the school for 20 years.

Templeman said he has not taken the allegations to the police as he is no longer employed by the school and he was not directly impacted by the alleged mismanagement.

In a letter to parents, San Andrea’s chairperson, Alexander Tortell, said Templeman had made “a series of (as yet) unsubstantiated verbal allegations related to the governance of the school, including financial matters, dating back to pre-September 2021”.

The board looks forward to the inquiry and any other processes which will establish the truth- Alexander Tortell, San Andrea's chairperson

Tortell said that Templeman was reassigned to “other administrative duties as a precautionary measure” because of unrelated pending criminal proceedings against him.

Templeman denies any wrongdoing in the case against him.

'Independent board of inquiry set up'

The school chairperson said that in light of “the allegations, rumours and innuendo”, an independent board of inquiry was set up on October 11, with details on how people with information could come forward to be provided “at a later stage”.

“The board looks forward to the inquiry and any other processes which will establish the truth. We will act on the outcome in order to uphold our fiduciary obligations to you and to good governance,” Tortell told parents.

On Friday evening, Tortell told Times of Malta that the board would take “all necessary action” following the inquiry.

If any of the allegations proved to be founded, it would “not hesitate to forward the findings to the police for criminal action to be taken against any person found to have acted against the interests of the school and been mismanaging funds”.

Meanwhile, parents, guardians and school employees have been invited to an urgent “information” meeting on Monday.