The $6 million refinancing and new construction package approved by the Fayette County Board of Education will be paid for with Certificates of Participation, known in short as COPS.

According to Jim Stephens, finance director for the Fayette County School system, COPS provide a good way to borrow small amounts of money without a referendum..

"It's a long term purchase arrangement," he explained. A book is compiled, similar to the type drafted for a bond referendum and "you sell investment-type securities called certificates."

Compiling the official statement takes about two months on the average, Stephens said and is channeled through a bond issuing agency.