Whether an elementary school is built within the Seabridge development may depend on the outcome of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by the Oxnard School District against the city of Oxnard and Seabridge's developer.

At issue is whether the school district or developer D.R. Horton Los Angeles Holding Co. Inc. should get $15.5 million now held in a community facilities district fund controlled by the city.

"It would be very difficult to build the school without this money," said Yuri Calderon, general counsel for the school district. The development is adjacent to Channel Islands Harbor, and the school would be constructed on 9 acres there.

The $15.5 million represents the proceeds of bonds issued against development fees paid by Seabridge homeowners and is intended to be used for school construction. A second pot of money in the fund is for city facilities.

The current construction estimate for a school for 600 to 1,000 children at Seabridge is about $30 million, Calderon said.

What prompted the suit, filed June 11 in Ventura County Superior Court, was the city's stated intention to transfer $7 million of the school funds to D.R. Horton, Calderon said. The city also said it might transfer the entire $15.5 million to the developer, he said.

"It is really an outrage," Calderon said. "These are taxpayer dollars. This is essentially fraud."

A cross-complaint filed the same day by attorneys for D.R. Horton states the district's suit is not supported by the facts and is fraudulent. The city has not yet responded to the suit.

D.R. Horton's attorneys did not return calls Friday afternoon, and company executives could not be reached for comment.

Alan Holmberg, an assistant city attorney, said D.R. Horton's position is that it has already paid the school district $7 million under a separate impact mitigation agreement, and the school money in the community facilities district fund should be given to the company.

Calderon contends the impact mitigation agreement has nothing to do with the community facilities district money.

Because the amounts payable by developers to school districts under impact mitigation agreements are limited by state law, it is not uncommon for community facilities districts to be created to cover the full cost of school construction, he said.

Calderon said the district would have preferred to resolve the matter amicably, adding that it is highly unusual for a district to sue the city where it operates.

Officials in Oxnard's city manager's office did not return calls Friday. No hearing in the case has been set yet.