Oxnard School District officials have put off complying with a state order involving districts failing to meet No Child Left Behind Act academic standards.

Officials will miss the first state deadline this week for submitting initial information on an improvement plan, saying they have concerns, including a possible $250,000 bill to devise the plan, and want more information before they move forward.

"We are questioning the process that leads us to this point," said Oxnard Superintendent Rick Miller. "There are a lot of unanswered questions."

The state Board of Education in March ordered 97 underperforming districts statewide to take some level of corrective action. In Ventura County, the Oxnard, Rio and Hueneme districts made the list.

The sanctions were directed at districts that have failed to meet standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act and remained in "program improvement" status for three years. The districts must raise the test scores of either their entire student body or subgroups that are causing them to lag.

Most districts, including the three in Ventura County, were required to hire outside intervention teams to assess shortcomings and make recommendations for improvement.

State schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell recommended the requirement be contingent on districts getting special funding for such consultants, but the state board declined to include that condition, and the money has yet to come through.

That's partly why Oxnard officials say they won't move forward and hire a state-approved intervention team. They also question the state's authority to require districts to take actions that could potentially overrule a local school board elected and accountable to the community.

"If we're being told we must have (an intervention team) and implement what they say," Miller said, "then that's a command overriding what the school board might decide."

The district could appeal any of the team's recommendations to the state board. But if the state board is taking such control of the district, Miller said, he wants to know if it also will be responsible and accountable for the results.

"We are not angry or upset," he said. "We're not opposed necessarily. We just need to be clear."

In April, Miller asked state officials to schedule a public hearing on the issue. The district received an answer recently saying the state isn't required to provide a hearing but officials could take their concerns to the state board. In response, Miller sent a letter to the state board last week, citing its questions and seeking clarification.

Fred Balcom, state director for accountability and improvement, said districts are required to hire intervention teams even without special funding. State education officials are continuing to work with legislative staff and the governor's office to get federal funding for this purpose, he said.

The Oxnard school board has heard from some state-approved teams but decided to not hire one yet. "I think our main concern is the funding," said board President Ana Del Rio-Barba. "It's going to cost about $250,000, and if we contract with a provider now, we're going to be footing the bill."

Oxnard school officials have already cut about $6.5 million from their budget this year to prepare for state funding cuts. Spending an additional $250,000 would mean cutting services or programs, they say.

"We don't want to be out of compliance," Del Rio-Barba said, and the district doesn't object to an outside team helping out, but "we need to be prudent in our decision making and the way money is expended."

Balcom said he doesn't know how many districts have already hired intervention teams. An update with that information is expected to go to the state board at its September meeting. The Oxnard School District, however, is the only one that has requested clarification on these issues, Balcom said. There apparently are no direct state penalties for not meeting the first deadline.

Both the Rio and Hueneme districts have hired the Ventura County Office of Education to provide intervention teams.

"We definitely are not happy that we don't have confirmation about funding for this," said Rio Assistant Superintendent Angela Randolph, but the district decided to move forward. "Are we still hesitant? Yes."