LYNN – Over halfway through his fourth year on the job, Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute Director Brian Coughlin was informed last week he has been reassigned and will not finish February as the school’s top administrator.While admitting that the change was not optional for Coughlin, Superintendent Nicholas Kostan was quick to warn Monday that the director has not been fired, but “relocated ” to a new position within the administration in order to make way for a “change of leadership” at the vocational school.That change comes in the form of LVTI graduate and current Breed Middle School Principal James Ridley, who will take over for Coughlin when students return from winter vacation on Feb. 25. Ridley’s top assistant Robert Frodema will serve as acting principal at Breed while the district begins the search for a successor.Kostan declined to give a reason for the abrupt decision to remove Coughlin from LVTI, citing a department policy that prevents him from commenting on the specifics of personnel issues.”This was my decision, it was my call to make this personnel move at this time. I have been thinking about this for quite some time,” Kostan said. “I could have waited until the end of the year, but I wanted to get the new personnel in at Tech with the crucial budget time coming up. I wanted to have someone in place for planning and staffing.”A former Title 1 program specialist and curriculum director, Coughlin took over at LVTI in October 2004 after resigning as superintendent of Swampscott Public Schools, a position he held from 1998-2004.Although very familiar with Lynn Public Schools, Coughlin’s years as director have been tumultuous, and some faculty members have questioned his leadership ability during his tenure.In March 2006, a group of “concerned faculty” petitioned to take a vote of no confidence in Coughlin, claiming the director had caused an overcrowding of shops and a “gradual deterioration of discipline.” Despite the efforts of those faculty members to have the director removed, Coughlin survived the uprising, as only five employees of the school ended up participating in the vote.In 2007, a district wide audit by the State Office of Educational Quality and Assurance also took a shot at Coughlin, noting that one of the few negatives they found in their two-week visit was a “lack of leadership” at the city’s vocational high school.Coughlin did not return calls seeking comment Monday.Known as an effective motivator and disciplinarian, Ridley is familiar with LVTI both as a graduate and as football coach from 1982-2004 and basketball coach from 1982-1999.By selecting Ridley, Kostan appears to have addressed the question of leadership at the school, and says he is confident that bringing the Breed principal back to LVTI is in the best interest of the district.”Jim is a proven administrator who is very highly respected both in the department and in the community,” Kostan said. “He is very skilled and can energize both students and faculty. He has done an excellent job at Breed and I know he is the right guy to take the reigns at Tech. That school means a lot to Jim – I think he will do a good job.”Speaking from his office at Breed Monday, Ridley says he is sad to leave a school that he has invested nine years in, but excited to return to his roots and help get LVTI moving in the right direction.”I am kind of sad to leave Breed. I have a lot of great staff and a lot of great friends here, but at the same time I am excited about being asked to go over (to LVTI),” he said. “That is where I started, hopefully I can end my career there on a good note.”Although he knows some changes need to be made, Ridley said he would not try to re-invent the wheel at Tech, and he would take his time to evaluate how everything is run at the school.”At first I want to just look to see how it is running. If things are running good then we will leave them alone, but if things need to be tweaked, we will tweak them too,” he said. “I w