Candidate for
Councilmember; City of San Leandro; District 5

Pauline Cutter is a lifelong resident of the East Bay and has been an active parent and community leader since moving to San Leandro in 1977. For more than thirty years, she has been involved in local schools, social groups, sports organizations and community events to ensure San Leandro continues to be a great place to live, work, do business and raise a family. As a three-term School Board Member, Pauline's common-sense and results-oriented approach has prepared her to serve as a member of the San Leandro City Council, if elected.

As a parent, Pauline volunteered countless hours as a PTA mom, in the Boosters Club and at the School District level as a member of the Board-District Advisory Committee, serving as BDAC Chair in 1996. She volunteered on the campaign for Measure A, the District's first school facilities bond which passed in 1997. Pauline successfully challenged a sitting Board Member to win her first term on the Board of Education in 1998. She is completing her 12th year on the Board + eight years as a board officer. Pauline was the first to be elected School Board President two years in a row, which was unprecedented in contemporary San Leandro schools history.

Under Pauline's leadership, San Leandro's schools have obtained over $61 million in matching funds from the state and other agencies for school construction projects. For 10 of the last 11 years, she has been a member of the Board's Facility Committee, overseeing construction of the state-of-the-art science wing at San Leandro High School, the new Jefferson Elementary School, new classrooms at John Muir and Bancroft Middle Schools, as well as upgrades to all schools in the district. As School Board President in 2006, Pauline led the effort to bring parents, teachers, business leaders and senior citizens together to ensure passage of Measure B, a $109 million bond to address overcrowding at San Leandro High School, expand the school library, modernize and renovate classrooms and student restrooms district-wide, as well as build a new Arts Education Center for theater, music and industrial arts. All major construction under Measure B has broken ground and the new freshman campus will be ready for students this fall.

For the past 19 years, Pauline has been a parent educator, director and classroom teacher at San Lorenzo Cooperative Preschool, part of the San Lorenzo Unified School District. As Director, she oversees the school budget, recruitment, enrollment and compliance. Pauline routinely meets the challenges of the preschool's diverse families such as arranging financial scholarships for families in need and ensuring parents have access to basic programs and services.

Pauline is a member of such professional organizations as the California School Boards Association (CSBA), California Teachers Association and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. She has earned CSBA's Masters in Governance designation and holds an Adult Education Credential from the California State University system.

A wife and proud mother of three, Pauline has been married to Scott Cutter for 33 years. Scott is a Journeyman Carpenter for the County of Alameda Building Services. Their children, Gina, Jessi and Clay, all graduates of Sonoma State University, attended public schools in San Leandro, including Broadmoor Preschool, Washington Elementary, Bancroft Middle and San Leandro High. Pauline lives in the Broadmoor area.