Jim McEntire, a Republican, is running to be a representative for the state’s 24th District. The Daily World sent the following questions to all of the candidates for state representative. Here’s McEntire’s response.

Please briefly describe your professional or personal qualifications for the job:

Over 46 years of service to our country in the U.S. Coast Guard retiring as a captain, federal civil service (retiring from the Senior Executive Service), and Clallam County elected office (a combined eight years as a port commissioner and county commissioner). Member of the State Board of Natural Resources, which sets timber harvest policy for state lands.

Your occupation: Retired (not too successfully).

Some rural school districts say the funding mechanism that provided money for teacher raises will leave less money for districts to pay for the same programs they have had in the past. What, if anything, should the Legislature do about that?

This major state policy change will need to settle out for a while. There may be some adjustments necessary, but the policy has not yet been put into full effect, since local tax levy amounts will be lower starting in 2019. There is significantly more state money for teacher pay, since local levies will not fund basic education as they have previously. That was what the McCleary case was all about. Since local school boards negotiate teacher pay, they will need to ensure that recently increased teacher and staff compensation levels are sustainable and affordable into the future. Local levies will pay for programs outside basic education, and the Legislature will need to pay for all the elements of basic education for all students, including those with special needs.

Homelessness has become a universal problem and solutions seem beyond local communities. What should the state do to address homelessness?

The Legislature has much work to do to help local governments with mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. Those who have such difficulties often cannot hold a job and thus are at great risk of becoming homeless. But for those that are able to work, the main task of state government is to remove obstacles that stand in the way of economic growth and job creation, so that families can afford to rent or buy adequate (at least) housing to suit their needs. The Legislature should look at everything that makes housing more expensive (and therefore less profitable) to build, such as land-use laws that cities and counties must comply with, and stormwater regulations and energy codes, so that homebuilders will be able to build more housing for the rental and sales markets.

Rural communities struggle with a shortage of doctors. What can the state do to narrow the gap between rural and urban-area health care?

The Legislature needs to fully fund the state Medicaid program so that health care providers will be able to recover their reasonable costs. Low state reimbursement rates act like a hidden tax on local property owners and businesses and local government that provide health care benefits to their employees, since public hospital districts must either shift cost onto private payers or property taxes to make up for the unfunded costs of that state program. A growing economy with more private-pay patients will go a long way to making the economics of rural health care work as it should.