SPPS will interview superintendent finalists this week

St. Paul public schools began conducting interviews to find its next superintendent Monday night.

Each of the three candidates, selected earlier this month, spent a day visiting schools and meeting with the local community ahead of their public interviews.

The interviews will be conducted over the next few days, with each candidate given one day to make their case.

Dr. Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed, superintendent of Hopkins Public Schools, was interviewed Monday.

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

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

The interviews take place at 6pm every evening and can be streamed live here.

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

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

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

“This is the biggest decision they’re going to make in the next couple of years, so they’ve got to get the right person at the right time to do the right job,” Thein said.