School super quest to begin in Lynn

LYNN – The search for outgoing Superintendent Nicholas Kostan’s successor could officially begin next week as School Committee members and city officials work to schedule a special meeting.The committee had originally changed its meeting schedule for the month from two meetings on the Oct. 9 and 23 to one meeting on the Oct. 16 to accommodate schedule conflicts and the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur on Oct. 9. Now, committee members are hoping to revisit the plans to meet twice this month so that they can come to an agreement on how to move forward with the hiring process.School Committee Secretary Thomas Iarrobino said Friday that the meeting is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 9 at 6:30 p.m., but he is still trying to coordinate the time and date with everyone’s schedule.Rumors surrounding who would be the next superintendent started swirling almost immediately after Kostan announced his retirement at a Sept. 25 meeting. Names that have been bantered about include Ford School Principal Claire Crane, Deputy Superintendents Jaye Warry and Catherine Latham and Classical High School Principal Warren White, among others.Kostan said he would retire as “close to January as possible,” leaving open the opportunity to stay on longer if the administration has a difficult time with the transition.The first decision the committee must make is whether to immediately post the job and begin interviewing permanent candidates or appoint an interim superintendent to work with Kostan until the first of the year, and then finish out the school year.Mayor and School Committee Chairman Edward J. Clancy Jr. went on record last week as a strong supporter of hiring an interim for this year, and suggested White may be the man for the job.Clancy would prefer to have someone train under Kostan and keep the rest of the current administration intact given that the change will come mid-year.He said he does not have any permanent candidates in mind, unlike seven years ago when he virtually hand-picked Kostan for the job, but feels that White’s experience and familiarity with the School Department would allow for a fluid transition until the committee can post the job next summer.Other committee members would rather see a decision made now for the future and avoid giving anyone a five-month tryout for the job.Longtime committee member Donna Coppola says that this is a critical time for the School Department, and she wants to see the committee go all-out to find the best candidate so that the next superintendent has a long-term investment in the district come budget time.According to School Committee Attorney John Mihos, the committee must post the job for 30 days once they plan on hiring a full-time, permanent replacement for Kostan, but if the committee decides to first hire an interim superintendent they may appoint whomever the committee sees fit for the position.Mihos said past committees have used both methods when searching for a superintendent.