The police financial crime unit is investigating the San Andrea School case, parents and staff were told on Saturday.

During an information meeting, the school board informed them that the Financial Crime Investigations Department (FCID) had asked the school for a copy of an inquiry, led by retired judge David Scicluna and a report by audit firm PWC into claims of financial mismanagement. The Mġarr-based school, one of the biggest private schools in Malta, is collaborating with the FCID. 

The inquiry and the audit report were two separate probes in allegations by the school’s assistant head, Trevor Templeman, who accused the school board’s former chairman, Kevin Spiteri, of having defrauded the school out of hundreds of thousands of euro.

Templeman had claimed a member of staff was paid €25,000 to keep quiet about the issue and that the school reassigned him different duties using trumped-up cyberbullying charges. The judicial inquiry concluded that the payout was a severance pay package.

Another key allegation was that Spiteri had taken €200,000 from school funds and that his company, KJM Enterprises, had made over €3 million for infrastructural projects. The judge leading the inquiry did not look into the alleged financial irregularities.

A statement from the school appeared to confirm that Spiteri’s business received in excess of €3 million over eight years, covering costs linked to the multipurpose hall, employee wages and materials.

Judge Scicluna’s 73-page report, commissioned by the school board, also pointed to a historically pervasive attitude of bullying and arrogance, and warned that “a school cannot be run as a fiefdom”.

It also said there were various red flags over how the private school was managing its finances.

The report was compiled after hearing the testimony of 65 witnesses and wading through numerous documents. It also made 30 recommendations to promote accountability and better governance at the school.

The inquiry noted the clique-like nature of the relationship between Templeman, school head Stefania Bartolo, assistant head Ruth Azzopardi, and the past board chairman.

Since the allegations first came to light last October, Templeman and Bartolo resigned, while assistant head Ruth Azzopardi remained suspended.

The inquiry concluded that several claims made by Templeman were unsubstantiated but singled out school top management for failing to take disciplinary action in numerous situations.

Sense of 'hope' at meeting

When parents and staff packed the school hall on Saturday morning, they were given a briefing of what was done after Templeman’s claims were made public. There was a sense of hope in the hall, with parents urging the school’s administration to take on board the inquiry’s recommendations, address the problems flagged and move forward.

Members of a Strategic Review Committee, a subcommittee of the school board, told the audience that the findings of the PWC report were part of phase one with the second phase being a full-scale financial investigation into the findings of the first phase, with full access granted to all the school’s data. The board had also drafted anti-bullying and whistleblower policies.

The board wants to build a strong management team that will focus on communication and building trust, as the current board is involved in the day-to-day running of the school, the parents and staff were told.

Journalists were not allowed into the meeting and Times of Malta relied on the accounts of parents who attended the meeting. 

One parent asked about procurement and conflict of interest issues, ostensibly referring to the fact that the past board chairman gave his own company a contract of works.

The board admitted there was no mechanism to address any conflicts, adding that a policy in this regard was needed to address the issue and mitigate the risks. For example, those forming part of the school’s projects sub-committee will not be allowed to submit a tender for a project.

School board chair resigns

Former San Andrea School chairman Alex Tortell.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the San Andrea School board, Alexander Tortell, who had “stepped aside” when allegations of wrongdoing had been made public, has turned down an invitation to return to head the board, and instead resigned from the position, citing “personal reasons”.

The school’s board of trustees this week wrote to Tortell, inviting him to return to the school in his previous position since the inquiry had exculpated him from any wrongdoing.

He, however, replied that although he noted that he had been cleared, he was turning down the invitation to return to his post but was resigning from the position.

Tortell had “stepped aside” for the duration of the internal inquiry probing claims of financial mismanagement that pre-date his term in office.

"It is also important to make clear that all decisions taken during my term as chairman were taken with total transparency - the board was always involved and apprised and there are documents and minutes that attest to this,” he had told Times of Malta back then.