Delegate Patterson urges six‑year notice for Charles County school bus contractors in House Bill 13‑59

Delegate Edith Patterson, a state delegate and former Charles County Board of Education chair, told the House Ways and Means Committee on March 6 that House Bill 13‑59 would require Charles County Public Schools to notify local contractors and the public at least six years before terminating contracts that would displace school‑bus contractors.

The bill “provides displacement notice to the contractors and to the public,” Patterson said during her testimony, describing the measure as a fairness and equity policy for small, generational businesses that finance buses with long loans.

Why it matters: Patterson said Charles County’s 24 school‑bus contracting firms operate 315 buses, employ more than 400 drivers, attendants and support staff, and serve more than 28,000 K‑12 students and their families. She said most contractors finance buses with personal guarantees and loans amortized over about six years. “All bus contractors purchase…