Ventura County school officials will begin advertising today to recruit the next county superintendent, requiring all applications be submitted online where they will not be subject to any immediate public review.

The Ventura County Board of Education signed off on a list of candidate qualifications and a job posting at a meeting Monday — Charles Weis' last official day as county superintendent. After 15 years, Weis has taken a job as Santa Clara County superintendent, and county trustees plan to appoint a successor to serve until his term ends in 2010 and an election is held.

Candidates will be told that their applications "will held in strict confidence," according to recruitment information approved Monday. Applications will be submitted online at http://www.edjoin.org, and two trustees, appointed to a screening subcommittee, will have access to the password-protected site. Trustees Marty Bates and Mary Louise Peterson have said they intend to forward all qualified candidates to the board as a whole, at which point their names, and possibly other information, would be made public.

"I think because of the reputation of the Ventura County Office of Education, which is very good, you can expect for there to be a lot of interest," said Glen Thomas, a Sacramento consultant hired by the county board to help with the selection process.

Thomas, former executive director of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, said he has already started to receive phone calls from potential candidates, though the job opening wasn't set to be posted until today.

Applications must be turned in by 4 p.m. July 31. Interviews are expected to be held August 15 and 16, and a final decision is expected by late August.

Included in the criteria set by the board Monday, applicants should have administrative or educational experience in a county office, school district or similar organization; demonstrate an ability to manage regional programs; and an ability to build collaborative relationships with elected boards of education. Trustees also expect applicants to have a deep understanding of programs for special needs and at-risk students.

Along with other education-related job posting, trustees Monday chose to put an ad in the Wall Street Journal. The board will pay $675 to place an ad in a Saturday edition of the national business newspaper to cast a wider net for potential candidates. The ad also would run for several more days on the newspaper's Web site, trustees said.

More information, including a full list of qualifications and application requirements, is expected to be available later today at http://www.vcoe.org or http://www.edjoin.org.