A former principal at Thomas C. Giordano Middle School X045 in the Belmont neighborhood has been removed from her job and fined in settling a conflict of interest case investigated by the Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District (SCI).
After an anonymous complaint to the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board, SCI, the independent watchdog for schools’ employees, found that former principal Doreen Kendall had hired her sister as a full-time social studies teacher, going around the standard hiring process involving the Department of Education and other job candidates.
Kendall allegedly served as her sister’s supervisor for performance evaluations and leave requests, and later assigned her to a non-teaching role at a teacher’s salary.
As a result of the investigation, Kendall was removed as principal of X045 and now serves as DOE’s Citywide Director of Social and Emotional Learning and Academic Integration. SCI classified the position as a demotion with a pay cut of $20,000. Kendall also paid a $5,000 fine as part of the settlement.
The Bronx Times contacted DOE to inquire about the status of Kendall’s principal license and her ability to apply for future NYC positions but has not yet received a response.
“Nepotism and the misuse of public positions for personal benefit will never be tolerated. Public positions exist to serve students and taxpayers — not personal interests,” Special Commissioner Anastasia Coleman said in a statement sent to the Bronx Times.
“SCI remains committed to protecting the integrity of the New York City public school system and will continue investigating misconduct that abuses the public trust and misuses taxpayer-funded positions within our schools.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
