this meeting, and the work of the whole faculty. Superintendent John Chambers also promised future attention to prospects for pushing back against the increase in State and federal mandates, in an ongoing effort to regain flexibility for best practices at the local school district level.

BUSINESS MEETING:
The Board heard from District administrators Greg Carlson and John Chambers, along with the three Board Finance Committee members, on the subject of bond borrowing options to complete the financing of the $47MM construction project. While authorization for the borrowing dated back to the spring of 2004, when the public voted on the bond proposal, the completion of the actual bonding was an important step when total payments on principal and interest were considered. Mr. Carlson presented four options, including both 29 and 20-year models, and a traditional "level debt" approach contrasted with a "50% rule" model. The administrators recommended the latter, on a 20-year basis, because it will end up costing Byram Hills tax payers the least amount of interest payback. The "50% rule" calls for the payment of some principal at the outset, thus reducing eventual interest payments. The District is able to utilize this option because of careful planning on annual fund balances in anticipation of the construction project.

After considerable discussion, and review of extensive materials, the Board concurred with the administrators' recommendation, and charged Mr. Carlson to follow-up with the District's financial advisors.

Other Topics
The Board also approved several items on the consent agenda, shown in the adjoining box. They discussed, briefly, committee reports and topics for future agendae before adjourning the public meeting to pursue several executive session topics.