Raleigh, N.C. — The bids are in to have a developer to build an elementary school then lease it to the Wake County Public School System.

Don Haydon, chief of facilities and operations for the school system, said Monday that six companies submitted bids for the project, which would be the first in Wake County.

A committee will narrow the field of applicants before making a recommendation next week.

Lawmakers approved these types of deals, known as public-private partnerships, in 2006. They allow private developers to build schools and lease them to school districts.

Advocates say the arrangement gets schools built more quickly and cheaply than traditional methods of issuing bonds to pay for construction.

The Wake County school under the public-private partnership would open in 2010.

Cumberland County is also looking at a similar project.