Thonotosassa, Florida --New Hillsborough County school buses are starting to roll into the bus depot ahead of schedule.
After a long-awaited decision five months ago to bring in 100 new buses each school year, four of the first 100 buses are here.
"These first four buses are built specifically for exceptional students, the ones with disabilities," said Superintendent MaryEllen Elia.
They are wider for wheelchair accessibility, and overall are larger buses.
"The extra space will make the students more comfortable," said Elia.
The other 96 buses will arrive over the next six to eight months.
"We are going to do it every year until we get a while new fleet and then start over again," said school board member Carol Kurdell. "It was long overdue we were going to do it at least five years ago and then of course the recession hit and we had to hold off."
The district said when the recession hit, it chose to save money by not buying new buses. That led to a backlog of old buses. More than a third of the district's 1,400 buses -- 550 of them -- are set to pass their retirement age in the next two years.
A consultant told the district the buses are safe but more likely to break down and cost taxpayers more to keep running. That's why the board decided five months ago to replace some buses annually to have anew fleet by the 2027 school year.
