Former San Andrea School assistant head Trevor Templeman has stood firmly by his claims of serious financial irregularities at the school and roped in the sworn testimony of a former colleague in rebutting court action against him.

On Monday, Templeman filed a counter-protest against Leanne Spiteri, a finance clerk at the school, who had filed a judicial protest on Tuesday stating that his claims about the alleged fraud were “totally not true” and “nothing but vendetta” in her regard.

Spiteri’s court action followed another judicial protest by school principal Stefania Bartolo who, after allegations about irregularities to the tune of €4 million first came to light, had stepped aside to “set a good example in corporate governance” and also to take “legal action to defend her name and reputation.”

Templeman in a counter-protest against Spiteri insisted that he was not only sticking to his version and was willing to confirm it in full, but was also attaching a sworn affidavit by Ruth Azzopardi, another assistant head who was present when he first came to know about the alleged financial wrongdoing.

That day, in April this year, both he and Azzopardi had been summoned to a meeting by Bartolo who, in the presence of the finance clerk, revealed information about alleged suspicious transactions by the ex-chairman of the school board, Kevin Spiteri.

Besides some €200,000 in transactions marked as “miscellaneous,” cheques were allegedly issued without the school principal’s signature and purchases effected without  three valuations having been sought.

Bartolo had said that the former chairman of the board had registered an income of some €3 million, excluding another €1 million linked to works on the school’s multipurpose hall.

During that meeting, Bartolo had claimed that she felt “betrayed,” Azzopardi’s affidavit said.

Both the principal and clerk appeared “in a panic, shocked and frustrated” that day.

When they asked if she was implying that Spiteri had “robbed” the school, Bartolo had allegedly replied, “Of course!! Who could have taken them?? [the funds].”

The former board chairman had also allegedly “put together very quickly” a rent agreement regarding a warehouse which he leased out to the school, and that was just one month before his chairmanship came to an end.

The principal was never asked for that information but gave it voluntarily.

Templeman said that faced with such knowledge, he could not just “sleep on it.”  

That was when he decided to speak to the chairman of the school board, Alex Tortell who, rather than kickstart an investigation, put the assistant head on a three-day suspension, stating that he “would not be chummy with him [Templeman].”

“Don’t expect that there will not be any repercussions,” Tortell had allegedly warned.

From then on, Tortell did everything to “persecute, bully and ignore him,” Templeman claimed.

His repeated requests all through the summer for a hearing before the school board were ignored.

Templeman said it was only after he wrote, threatening to pursue the matter before the board of trustees, that he was finally heard. He had insisted on that meeting being recorded.

But after that, there was no follow-up.

By means of a post on social media, Templeman had then invited parents to get in touch, so that he could pass on to them the information in hand.

Other people also knew about the irregularities 

There were other third parties who knew all about the alleged irregularities at San Andrea, but most of them had been “silenced” or “politely dismissed.”

However, there were others willing to speak and corroborate his version, including his former colleague, Azzopardi, whose affidavit he was attaching to his court act, Templeman said. 

Lawyers Chris Said and David Bonello signed the counter-protest that was filed before the First Hall, Civil Court.

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