St. Paul Public Schools on Monday evening will begin conducting interviews to find its next superintendent.

Each of the three candidates, selected earlier this month, will spend a day visiting schools and meeting with the community prior to their public interview.

The interviews will be done over the next few days, with each candidate getting a day to make their case.

Dr. Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed, the superintendent of Hopkins Public Schools, will be interviewed Monday.

Dr. Brenda Casselius, the CEO of Fresh Energy and former Minnesota State Education Commisioner, will be interviewed Tuesday.

Dr. Stacie Stanley, the superintendent of Edina Public Schools, will be interviewed Wednesday.

The interviews will take place at 6 p.m. each night and can be livestreamed here.

SPPS is the second-largest school district in Minnesota with 68 schools and programs and 33,000 students.

Whoever is selected will replace interim Superintendent Dr. John Thein. The prior superintendent, Dr. Joe Gothard, took a job as the superintendent of Madison Metropolitan School District in Wisconsin.

They will also have to deal with budget cuts and a lawsuit alleging the district misused federal COVID funding.

“This is the biggest decision they’re going to make over the next few years, so they need to get the right person at the right time to do the right job,” Thein said.