Alexander to seek state senate seat

Jim Alexander has announced his intention to run for the state senate seat from Dist. 22 being vacated by Fred Kennedy, who is not seeking a second term.

Alexander, who unsuccessfully sought a House seat 12 years ago that was (and still is) held by Republican Frances Fields, will run as a Democrat.

The long-time chairman of the Mountain Home School District Board of Trustees and the owner of Sav-Mor Drug in Mountain Home, Alexander said he was running because of his increasing frustration with how the Idaho Legislature is dealing with the issues of education, health care, business and taxes. "These are my strengths," he said.

"I had to do some soul searching and get the blessing of my wife, but now I'm excited" about the prospect of earning a seat in the legislature.

Educational reform is one of his major issues, he said. "As someone who has tried, along with my fellow board members, to implement the changes imposed in the last 16 years (since he has been on the school board), I can only say that there's a lot of half-baked ideas coming out of the legislature."

Alexander said many of the problems have developed as a result of the conflict between the state Board of Education and the state Department of Education.

"Essentially, the Department of Education, which implements the decisions of the legislature, has become a hollow shell," he said, adding that "the Superintendent of Education has become a mere figurehead." But, he said, Marylin Howard, the state Superintendent of Education (and the only Democrat to hold a major state office) "was elected by the people and she deserves the respect of her office."

Alexander charged that the Board of Education, which is appointed by the governor, "has usurped her power. School boards are now mainly getting orders from the Board of Education, not the Department of Education," and that the board, which is supposed to set policy, not generate the detailed procedures, has "bypassed the department on many things."

"Somebody needs to explain to the people why they've gained all this authority."

Alexander said if he's elected he's been promised a position on the Senate Education Committee by the Democratic leadership.

But resolving turf battles aside, Alexander has concerns about some of the programs the legislature has imposed in the last few years. "Basically, I think we need to carefully analyze the actual benefits of these programs," he said, such as the mandated ISAT testing program that is tied to graduation requirements. "It's wrong for the state to impose programs with unknown benefits."

The Mountain Home School District's graduation requirements are already higher than most districts in the state, he noted, which he thinks is the right way to go. "I'm not a fan of high stakes testing. I think it's one more barrier for kids to be successful."

But one of his greatest concerns is that of unfunded mandates to school districts, and other local governments.

"Any time a governor tells agencies that, in order to implement mandated programs, they have to reach into their reserves, then he's out of touch with what it takes to run a school district.

"If programs are implemented, there should be corresponding funding to pay for them. It's a big issue."

Alexander also thinks the state needs to conduct a serious review of charter schools. "The problem is one of accountability. Charter schools don't have the same standards" to meet as regular public schools and tend to discriminate against handicapped and special education students.

"The fear is, what we're ending up with is the equivalent of private schools being paid for with public dollars."

The theory behind charter schools, which are created and administered by parents within a school district, "is that they would have a more rigorous academic activity. The reality is, just the opposite."

And their accountability is a big issue. They report only once a year to school boards on their finances, but not on the academic performance of their students. And the sponsoring agency often has little control over the finances, as well. He pointed to the two on-line schools in the state, the Idaho Virtual High School ( chartered by the Mountain Home School District) and the Idaho Virtual Academy, which provides services for students in grades K-9. The Virtual High School actually made a $400,000 profit last year, while the Virtual Academy is asking the legislature to cover a $1.5 million loss.

"I want to see what the problem is there," he said.

But Alexander isn't a one-issue candidate. A former president of the state association of pharmacists, he believes health care programs in Idaho are a train wreck waiting to happen.

"We have an extreme problem in terms of Medicaid funding," he said, noting that for every one dollar Idaho spends the federal government matches it with four dollars of support.

But, he believes, too much of that money is being wasted, calling for better auditing procedures and a streamlined department. And Idaho isn't getting all the funds it should get because the state agencies in charge of it "are not efficient."

And programs like CHIPS, which provide health care for uninsured children, are not being properly utilized. "It's a wonderful program. But the way the state controls its costs is to not advertise it. "Are we so poor that we can't use it the way it was meant to be?"

And some of the rules make no sense, he said. "You've heard of the girl in Boise with the terminal illness. Sen. Cecil Ingram is trying to get Medicaid to pay. But I think it's terrible that you have to know Ingram to get health care."

"These folks (in the legislature and the committees in charge of the bureaucracies) that represent Medicaid as irresponsible, well, they're the ones that set the rules." You can't tell people how to run their agencies and then criticize them when they do it the way they're told, he said.

And, he said, the new Medicare bill that recently passed Congress, "uses some very dangerous language" that will have a huge impact on Medicaid. "For example, it says that the government will never again ask drug companies to discount their products. The rebates they get already are huge, and I should know, and that will effect Medicaid. We need to make manufacturers bid against each other" for the cost of providing drugs to Medicaid recipients.

He pointed out that most of the high cost of drugs is due to advertising, not product development, which is largely funded by the National Institute for Health."

He admitted his concerns might be construed as biting that hand that feeds his business. "It's the supreme irony, but they (the drug companies) don't like pharmacists much, I think because we know what they're doing. They do everything they can to keep pharmacists out of any decision making role." In Washington, D.C., he pointed out, there are more lobbyists for the pharmacuetical industry than there are congressmen.

Alexander also believes major changes need to be made in the business and tax laws. With experience in both the private business and public sectors, he has some concerns.

"From a tax standpoint, I'm concerned that the one-cent sales tax increase is scheduled to sunset in July '05. That will cost the state $70 million. I believe the state has to be fiscally sound, but it also has to fulfill its promises, just as any individual is expected to do.

"We need to find other alternatives and look at them. Economically, Idaho is going in the wrong direction.... We can't continue deficit spending and stay financially sound," he said, noting the state already has wiped out the huge tobacco settlement fund and the rainy day fund to pay for programs. "Those funds are pretty much depleted and pretty soon we're going to have to live on our own" funding resources.

He said an analysis of the state's financial health is needed, that a close look is needed at how the Public Employee Retirement Fund is being administered, and the legislature needs to look at what state programs will have to be cut or scaled back to meet the state's financial capabilities.