A Fillmore school board has decided to legally challenge a Ventura County Board of Education decision that would allow several families to transfer their children out of Fillmore schools.

The Fillmore Unified School District denied about 30 percent of its 2007-08 interdistrict transfer requests. More than a dozen families appealed the denials to the county board, which ruled in June that Fillmore's decision-making process was flawed.

State law allows Fillmore and other districts with fewer than 50,000 students to limit transfers to 3 percent of overall enrollment. Fillmore adopted that policy in 2006 and used it as a basis for its denials.

But the county board's attorney said the limit should not have applied to multiyear interdistrict transfers involving child care issues, parents who work for other school districts, or students already attending other districts under previously granted transfers. Many of the Fillmore parents who appealed to the county have said their requests fit into those exemption criteria.

Fillmore officials disagree, saying the cap applies to all requests, and they have decided to take the issue to a judge.

After the board had several closed-door meetings with its attorneys, board President Virginia De La Piedra announced Tuesday night that it had unanimously voted to move forward with litigation "on behalf of the 3,800 students who attend the Fillmore Unified School District."

Superintendent Jeff Sweeney said the district limited the number of transfers after several years of declining enrollment.

State funding is based on the number of students, and losing money can jeopardize programs and staff positions.

District officials have to balance parental rights with the best interests of all Fillmore students, Sweeney said.

The district's next step likely will be to file a writ in Ventura County Superior Court, which, Sweeney said, could happen in the next several days.

He declined to comment on how much the district expects to spend on the litigation. He also declined to say what, if any, steps the district could take to make sure students denied transfers enroll in Fillmore schools. School started last week in Fillmore.

Before Tuesday night's closed session, Barbara Macri-Ortiz, an attorney representing some of the families denied transfers this year, told the board her clients have endured "a tremendous amount of anxiety."

They already have had to make decisions about where their children will go to school this year, she said. Some of the children are enrolled in Fillmore schools, and others have registered in other school districts or private schools.

"Those decisions have been made and will not be retracted, regardless of whether Fillmore chooses to challenge the county's decision or not," Macri-Ortiz said.

She asked Fillmore officials Tuesday to "do the right thing" and respect the Ventura County Board of Education's decision.

The county board sustained four families' appeals that it considered at a June 8 meeting, asking Fillmore to review those cases and allow the students to transfer out of the district if they fell within one of the exemption categories.

Weeks earlier, however, the county board had taken a different stance. At a May hearing, it voted to uphold Fillmore Unified's transfer rejections, citing its attorney's position that the K-12 district was following state law.

Don Hurley, the county board attorney, changed his position in June, saying he had been wrong and the cap should not apply to all interdistrict transfer requests. He called the education code "poorly crafted" and the cap law a gray area.

The county board said it could not reconsider the appeals it had already heard in May, but county trustees directed Fillmore to review its interdistrict transfer requests in line with their new ruling.

"Certainly, it's confusing," county Superintendent of Schools Charles Weis said Wednesday. "I think we have to follow the law. The question here is, What is the law?' "

Weis said he would have preferred a solution that would keep the school districts out of court. Insurance doesn't cover the costs of school districts suing each other.

The county board has a meeting scheduled for later this month and likely will discuss the anticipated litigation with its attorney.