Sharon school directors Wednesday discussed the details of borrowing more than $3 million to pay for school renovations and a security system.

Directors are planning to take out a $3,125,000 bond issue to cover construction costs for the completion of the high school and the educational service center.

A bond issue is a long-term loan -- investors buy bonds on the open market and school districts and municipalities repay them with interest.

Business Manager James Wolf recommended directors take out the bond issue at a variable rate.

The district could save about $136,000 with a variable interest rate in the first several years of the bond issue, Wolf said. He estimated that a fixed interest bond rate would cost the district $276,000 in two years while a variable rate would only cost about $92,000 during the first two years of the bond issue.

It's unknown how much the bond issue will cost in the future because of the variable interest rate.

Wolf said the interests rates would start at just under 2 percent. If interest rates should climb dramatically, though Wolf said he doesn't expect they will, directors could lock into a fixed rate.

Directors are expected to vote on the bond issue Monday. Wolf said paperwork could not be completed in time for a vote Wednesday. A representative from RBC Dain Rauscher, Pittsburgh, is arranging the bond process.

The district is currently paying off a $10 million bond issue at a variable rate for renovations to the elementary and high schools, and $1,880,600 is included in the new budget to pay on that debt.

Wolf said the two bond issues could be changed to fixed interest rates at the same time if interest rates climb.

The bond issue would also pay for a $155,000 security system for the high school. Dr. Donna DeBonis, director of curriculum and education, said she and other administrators are working on a federal grant to offset the cost of the equipment.

To get the ball rolling, Wolf said directors could start getting bids for the security system. The scope of the project, which now includes 55 cameras and two monitors, could change depending on the bids, he said.

Director Dominick Russo said he wants to see the security system complete before school starts in the fall and while the ceiling tiles are already removed in the high school.