Fila to serve as education liason in Lynn

LYNN – Longtime Lynn public schools teacher and administrator Andrew Fila, who retired as principal of English High School this past October, has been appointed by the mayor as an unpaid educational liaison.Fila, 69, of Lynn, had a 45-year career in the Lynn public schools. He began teaching as a substitute in the Lynn schools in 1965. In 1972, he was promoted to vice principal at Eastern Junior High School, which has since become Marshall Middle School. Fila took over as principal before he succeeded the late Thomas Connelly as English High School’s principal in February 2000.”He came to us and offered to volunteer his services to help us out,” Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, who under the city charter serves as chairman of the School Committee, said Friday. “We’re thrilled. He offered and we accepted. We plan to put him on school issues when he returns from Florida, where he spends part of the year.”According to Kennedy, Fila is well-versed in administrative issues and familiar with the city schools.During Fila’s tenure at English High School its guidance department was revamped and its comprehensive assessment test performance won applause from publications like US News & World Report and Business Week. Both ranked English High among the nation’s best secondary schools.Last February, Fila became embroiled in a controversy over the alleged improper recruitment of basketball players from other high schools to Lynn. Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association investigated the case and suspended Lynn English basketball coach Gordon “Buzzy” Barton from the state tournament. In addition, it sent Fila a strongly worded letter of reprimand for his role in the recruiting.School Superintendent Catherine Latham suspended Fila for a week after the incident.Fila could not be reached for comment.