A Bronx middle school principal who put her sister on the school payroll and then supervised her is out of the big chair and into a lower‑paying city job after a watchdog investigation, according to investigators. Doreen Kendall, formerly the principal of Thomas C. Giordano Middle School (MS 45) in Belmont, agreed to a settlement that included a $5,000 fine and what officials described as a demotion that cut her salary by about $20,000.
According to the Bronx Times, the Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigation, or SCI, found that Kendall hired her sister as a full‑time social studies teacher outside the standard NYC Department of Education hiring process. Investigators said Kendall later moved her sister into a non‑teaching role while keeping her on a teacher's salary, and personally handled her performance evaluations and leave requests. Those moves triggered an anonymous complaint to the city's Conflicts of Interest Board and set off the probe.
Thomas C. Giordano Middle School 45 (DBN 10X045) is located at 2502 Lorillard Place in the Belmont neighborhood and serves grades 6 through 8, according to the NYC Department of Education. The DOE notes that the school shares a building with other programs and lists contact details families use for enrollment questions and other school services.
Kendall had also been a familiar face in local civic life. Coverage in the Norwood News showed her joining Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Councilmember Oswald Feliz at a June 2025 groundbreaking for a $6.05 million playground project at M.S. 45. That kind of on‑the‑ground advocacy for facilities and funding is a big part of what neighborhood principals do, which is why leadership shakeups tend to ripple quickly through school communities.
SCI findings and settlement
As reported by the Bronx Times, Kendall agreed to pay a $5,000 fine and was reassigned within the Department of Education to a position titled Citywide Director of Social and Emotional Learning and Academic Integration. SCI described that new role as a demotion, estimating it comes with about a $20,000 pay cut.
Special Commissioner Anastasia Coleman told the paper that “nepotism and the misuse of public positions for personal benefit will never be tolerated” and said SCI would keep pursuing misconduct cases that abuse the public trust. In other words, hiring your own family and signing off on their reviews is exactly the kind of thing the watchdog is paid to sniff out.
What this means for oversight
The case underscores how the city’s ethics and education watchdogs work together when a school official is accused of crossing the line. The Conflicts of Interest Board and SCI handle allegations that a Department of Education employee used public authority for private gain, and the DOE maintains conflict‑of‑interest rules for its administrators, as laid out in the NYC Department of Education guidance.
The Special Commissioner of Investigation publishes reports and case summaries showing that outcomes in these kinds of probes can include fines, reassignments and recommendations for further administrative action. Those penalties, the watchdog says, are meant to deter officials from misusing public positions and to help safeguard taxpayer dollars that fund city schools.
