The Renton community and school district staff got to interact with school superintendent candidates this week, as the top three interviewed for the job.

The candidates, all in-state residents, were busy touring the school district, meeting with staff and taking part in public forums.

Monday, Merri Rieger, the Kent School District’s chief student achievement officer, was in Renton interviewing. Tuesday, the community heard from candidate Lester “Flip” Herndon, superintendent of the Bremerton School District. Thursday, Crystalee Sweeting, an assistant superintendent for Puyallup schools, was to interview, after the Renton Reporter’s print deadline.

The newspaper sat down with Rieger and Herndon earlier in the week to ask them the same five questions. An interview with Sweeting is expected Thursday to answer the same questions for publication on the web and next week in print.

Former Renton schools chief Mary Alice Heuschel left the district in January to become Gov. Jay Inslee’s chief of staff. Vera Risdon is the interim superintendent for Renton until the new chief takes office July 1. The School Board is expected to announce which candidate it has offered the job to at its April 17 meeting.