Weeks after county schools Superintendent Charles Weis announced his resignation, the Ventura County Board of Education has decided to get some help finding a successor.

Weis plans to leave at the end of June for a job as Santa Clara County schools superintendent, and the Ventura County board likely will appoint someone to serve out his elected term, which ends in 2010.

Trustees received proposals from six search firms, hearing from representatives at two separate meetings this month. They unanimously decided Wednesday night to hire consultant Glen Thomas of Sacramento, a former executive director of the California County Superintendents Educational Service Association. He will be paid $150 an hour — plus costs for clerical support, postage and advertising — not to exceed $25,000.

Thomas could best "customize a search" to fit the board's needs, Trustee Marty Bates said, and his experience working with county superintendents would help him find qualified candidates for the job.

Whether the names of applicants will be made public, however, has been a topic of repeated discussions at recent board meetings.

The county superintendent is an elected position. "It's just like appointing a board member," Weis said. "That's why it has to be open and transparent."

But several trustees have said they are concerned about outing applicants during the screening process, saying it could jeopardize their current positions and limit the candidate pool.

Henry Kraft of Tustin, the board's attorney, told trustees Wednesday that if the entire board reviews candidates, it would have to be done publicly to comply with state open meeting laws.

A search subcommittee, however, could screen

candidates privately if it includes less than a quorum of trustees.

Trustee Mary Louise Peterson, who has said she wants an open and transparent process, took issue with that opinion and said she doesn't want to "give too much power to an ad hoc committee that could filter" through the list of applicants. When the board decides on a process, she said, she wants to make sure no one can further their own political purposes and each trustee gets a chance to review all of the applicant files.

"I wonder why they're spending so much time trying to do this outside of the public eye," Weis said Thursday of the board.

"If you want to run for county superintendent, you have to tell people who you are," Weis said. "If you don't have the guts to do that, then you shouldn't even consider it."

Weis urged trustees Wednesday to move as quickly as possible to find his successor, saying he's not aware of any legal provision allowing someone else to sign paychecks or warrants after he leaves.

Trustees questioned how that could be true, asking their attorney to look into the issue. After the meeting, board President Chris Valenzano said he believes the board has a responsibility to do its due diligence on the search. "We're not going to set a drop-dead date if we don't have to," he said.

Thomas and the board likely will meet to discuss the search process at the board's next meeting.

A regularly scheduled meeting is set for June 11, but trustees could call for a special meeting to be held earlier. The board's agendas are posted at http://www.vcoe.org/vcboe.