Last day on job arrives for Lynn school super

LYNN – It was early September 1970 when Nicholas Kostan first walked into a classroom inside the old Breed Junior High School, a short summer removed from graduating college, the Lynn English High School alum had returned home to try his hand at teaching history.Thirty-eight years later and a day short of retirement, the man who has led the entire district as superintendent for the past seven years still remembers his first day at Breed, hoping he would succeed at a job he admittedly “fell into.”Back in those days the position of superintendent was far from the mind of the former political science major, but as time went on and the first-year jitters subsided, Kostan took a liking to his role as teacher and coach at Breed, staying the course and jumping into education head on.”(Becoming superintendent) never crossed my mind. I never planned on being a teacher, I just kind of fell into it,” Kostan said Tuesday as he packed up his office. “That first year of teaching was tough. Going into that classroom for the first time was really difficult, but after that first year it kind of eases up and I really came to enjoy teaching and coaching.”Over the next three decades Kostan’s journey took him from the classroom to the main office as Vice Principal of Breed and later Classical, where he eventually became principal. He served as deputy superintendent for three years and officially took over as superintendent at the start of 2002, sticking with the job three years longer than he had to.Now that he has finally stepped away, Kostan is taking time to reflect on 38 years of people and events that he says flew by in what felt more like 38 minutes.”The 38 years goes by fast, I remember my first day at Breed and it doesn’t seem possible that 38 years already went by,” he said. “I have mixed emotions. I have enjoyed all of it, every position, but it was time. It is time to tee it up.”Thumbing through boxes of supplies and pictures of his family this week, Kostan has stumbled upon more than a few artifacts from his time with the department. Custodians have left him a dolly and a wheeled platform to help with the transition of boxes from his office to his garage, where a special screening committee (made up of he and his daughter) will determine where many of the items end up.From an old team photo of a himself playing on the Lynn English basketball team (“That proves I did used to be skinny once,” he joked), to a plaque commemorating the first time that Classical High School was recognized as a top high school by U.S. News and World Report in 1999, Kostan will have no shortage of reminders to keep Lynn schools fresh on his mind during retirement.The national distinction along with a $1 million grant from GE while he was principal are two moments that Kostan highlights as some of the best in his career.He also takes pride in the improved academics that Lynn students have shown in his time as principal at Classical and as Superintendent, and truly believes that the students of Lynn can compete with anyone in the world.”The thing about Lynn kids is that they really appreciate what you do for them,” he said. “And they are lucky to have the quality of teachers we have here, they work really, really hard.”By next week Kostan’s office will be empty and he will undoubtedly be on a golf course in Florida, enjoying a long-awaited vacation without the worry of budget problems or state standards weighing on his mind as he soaks up the sun.Although he will miss the camaraderie he felt with his staff and the interaction he had with the students once the administration building moved from Central Street to the Lynn Tech Annex, Kostan says there is absolutely one thing that he will never miss – having to make the dreaded snow day decision.”I have been through a lot of difficult times and had to make some real difficult decisions in my 38 years,” he said. “But the absolute worst, most difficult decision I have had to make is calling school off for snow becaus