The Anoka-Hennepin school board is interviewing five superintendent candidates this week and plans to select two or three finalists by Wednesday evening, district officials said.

Those finalists will each spend nearly 12 hours each speaking with staff, faculty and students next week before the school board chooses a permanent replacement for David Law, who was hired away by Minnetonka Public Schools earlier this year.

The board was to interview three candidates Tuesday: Sartell-St. Stephen School District Superintendent Jeffrey Ridlehoover, St. Paul Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Yeu Vang and Matthew Gutierrez, superintendent of the Seguin Independent School District in Seguin, Texas.

On Wednesday, the board plans to interview former Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools Superintendent Teri Staloch and Osseo Superintendent Cory McIntyre.

Staloch resigned from her previous administrative post earlier this year after a series of racist incidents at Prior Lake High School. She currently works with a school leadership consulting firm.

The Anoka-Hennepin board is conducting the interviews, which are open to the public, at the district's Educational Service Center in Anoka, 2727 Ferry St.

Next week, each finalist will spend one day touring district facilities and sitting down for group interviews. The district will also host hourlong meet-and-greets with the finalists at 5:30 p.m. each day.

The board will likely choose its preferred candidate and begin contract negotiations by the end of its Dec. 7 meeting.

The next superintendent will take over for interim Superintendent Kate Maguire, who has led the state's largest district since Law's departure at the end of June.

Law had one year left in his contract with the Anoka-Hennepin district when he left. His salary for the 2021-22 school year was $234,800.

The north metro district also paid $7,500 into a retirement annuity and provided $2,000 to cover the cost of Law's membership in professional education associations.

Consulting firm School Exec Connect led the searches for the district's interim and permanent leaders.