Exclusive | Staten Island principal admits affair with younger teacher after helping her get tenure: probe

The furious wife of a philandering Staten Island principal blew the whistle on her husband’s affair with a younger teacher at his school, where he helped his lover win tenure, The Post has learned.

Principal Anthony Cosentino, 43, engaged in a “consensual sexual relationship” with the married staffer, Jacqueline Sinodinos, 28, the Special Commissioner of Investigation for city schools found in a newly released report accusing him of possibly violating the city’s conflict-of-interest rules.

The scandal broke up two marriages. Both Cosentino’s wife and Sinodinos’ husband filed for divorce.

After receiving an SCI report on the alleged misconduct in July 2024, the city Department of Education removed Cosentino, 43, from PS 21 in North Shore. But he remained on the DOE payroll making $187,632 despite what SCI Anastasia Coleman called “an absence of judgment and professionalism.”

Coleman recommended “strong discipline, up to and including termination” of Cosentino. Instead, he is may get a new assignment as principal of another school in the borough, sources said. 

In March 2024, Cosentino’s wife – a DOE teacher at another school – filed a complaint with SCI that her husband had carried on an “illicit sexual relationship” with Sinodinos since June 2023, and given her extra school funds to spend on a Thanksgiving party and other festivities for her class.

The DOE had already received a complaint in November 2023 that Cosentino was engaging in an extramarital affair with the teacher and giving her preferential treatment, the SCI says. It’s unknown what, if anything, the DOE did about it.

SCI received another complaint in February 2024, and launched its own probe.

Romantic relationships between co-workers are not forbidden by the city Conflicts of Interest Board unless they involve a financial component, or when “a superior has the power to affect … a person’s employment, including the power to evaluate job performance, assign work, or approve leave requests.”

Cosentino finally admitted his extramarital relationship to another DOE administrator, while insisting it involved no special considerations or financial favors. 

But SCI learned he gave Sinodinos “highly favorable” reviews and and recommended her for tenure – a  permanent job status with due-process rights and protection from firing. Teachers typically come up for tenure after four years.

His confession came only after Sinodinos won tenure in January 2024. Another administrator who approved her tenure had “suspicions of bias” by Cosentino – but found no evidence the teacher didn’t deserve it, the SCI reports. Sinodinos made $77,771 in 2024.

In other questionable conduct, Sinodinos tried to enroll her son in a 3-K program at PS 21, though the child was zoned for another Staten Island school. It’s unclear whether PS 21 accepted him.

Meanwhile, Sinodinos’ husband filed for divorce in July 2024. Their split was finalized in June, court records show.

Cosentino’s wife sued for divorce in October. That breakup is pending.

The turmoil comes as SCI completed another investigation which, sources said, found Cosentino “negligent” for failing to adequately supervise the school’s purchasing secretary, Michele Cenci, who pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $145,000 from PS 21 coffers over seven years.

Sinodinos, described as a friend of Cenci, had pumped Cosentino for information on that probe, the SCI said.

Instead of terminating Cosentino, the DOE plans to assign him as principal of PS 3 The Margaret Gioiosa School in Elm Park, sources said.

“These documented failures in judgment and oversight raise a tremendous amount of concerns for the school community  We don’t understand how this individual could be cleared to run an elementary school or still manage to work under a license that should have been revoked,” an outraged PS 3 parent told The Post.

“Our students, the staff and families deserve a leader that exemplifies integrity and accountability for their actions. P.S. 3 deserves better and our leaders in District 31 should feel the same way.”

DOE spokeswoman Chyann Tull said Cosentino “is not currently assigned to P.S. 3,” where a retiring principal will be replaced.

“We take all allegations of this kind seriously, and always follow established protocols to ensure the safety and well-being of our school communities,” Tull said.

Cosentino and Sinodinos did not reply to requests for comments. Both declined to be interviewed by investigators, “citing their tenured status,” the SCI reported.