The Mars Area School District has netted $1,020,500 in a deal in which it traded bond interest rates with a for-profit partner, Wachovia Bank.

The school board Jan. 11 authorized Superintendent William Pettigrew to approve the agreement, called a "swaption," when the bond markets made it favorable. The district closed the deal Jan. 27.

At the time the board approved the deal, Christopher Shelby of HT Capital Markets, the district's financial adviser, estimated that the trade would net the district $900,000 or more. The deal was contingent on the district making at least $700,000.

The trade involved $13 million in bonds the district issued in 2002 and $7.5 million issued last year.

In other business, the district will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday in its offices at 545 Route 228 in Adams on plans to build a new school for its fifth and sixth grades.

Pennsylvania Act 34 requires school districts to conduct hearings and solicit comment on new construction projects or substantial additions to existing structures, according to the state Department of Education Web site.