SKIP O'ROURKE | Times
From left, Hillsborough County School Board Chairwoman Carol Kurdell, board member Cindy Stuart and school superintendent MaryEllen Elia look out the windows of one of four new public school buses that arrived Friday, ahead of schedule, at the county's transportation bus garage. After a recommendation by Elia on June 10, the School Board approved the purchase of 100 new school buses. The buses were built in High Point, N.C., by Thomas Built Buses and driven to Orlando, where finishing touches and final inspections were completed. The first buses are special-needs buses, which have wheelchair lifts. Sixteen more buses will arrive in the next few weeks. The remaining buses will roll in over the next few months after they are finished and inspected.