A Passion for Schools and Potholes

The daily uniform of the city’s newest council member is a pumpkin orange long-sleeved T-shirt and equally bright matching apron. Her workdays are filled with play dough, boo boos and nursery rhymes—in several languages.

Pauline Cutter has headed the San Lorenzo Co-op Preschool for 20 years. She has been involved in school governance for more than half that long, and she recently became the District 5 representative to San Leandro City Council.

I showed up at Cutter’s classroom late one morning several weeks ago for a quick interview during her half-hour lunch period. The classroom was a flurry of activity, as Cutter and several parents—all wearing the bright orange aprons emblazoned with the preschool’s name—cleaned up after the morning’s activities.

“Time to park the bikes,” Cutter called to the kids riding around the small enclosed playground behind the classroom. She ushered her pint-sized students into the classroom for an end of the day sing-along, including the classic “Five Little Monkeys.”

In a show of the preschool’s cultural diversity, the kids counted one round in English, one in Spanish and one in Mandarin.

Under the co-op program, each parent works one day a week at the school, helping to keep childcare costs low.

The parents also take a nighttime education class once a week—at least they used to until the cut funding for the program last September.

The co-op is a program of the San Lorenzo Adult School, whose funding in recent years as it’s called in school budget jargon, by the school district to pay for basic services for school-age children, and for other, higher priority needs. Cutter still teaches some classes for parents, even though she doesn’t get paid.

Her dedication to the school is palpable as she talks about the possibility of it closing sometime in the near future if the state’s fiscal health doesn’t improve.

“This was one of the premiere adult schools,” Cutter said.

Straddling Districts

Cutter has long straddled the city’s two school districts: teaching in one; sending her three children to school in, and then serving on the board of, the other.

She won her first term on the School Board in 1998 and served on the board continuously until last year. She was president of the board for four years.

As her term was set to end last year, she decided to attempt the leap from school board to City Council. Since her oldest child had graduated from in 2005, she said she felt it was time to cede her spot to someone with school-age children.

Cutter said the “budget mess” spurred her run for City Council, which she won against Corina Lopez with 53 percent of the vote.

“I thought I could bring a lot to the table,” said Cutter, who’s lived in San Leandro for 34 years and is a graduate of San Lorenzo High School.

During her last two years as a trustee, she sat on the finance committee, where she was forced to make ultra-tough choices directly affecting students and colleagues.

When asked about her ideas on how to improve the city’s financial outlook, her answer was matter-of-fact.

“We’re going to have to make some cuts and live within our means,” she said.

 Sweating the Small Stuff

On both the question of where to cut, and where to make progress, Cutter seems focused on the little things.

“There are small adjustments I can see right off that could be made [to the budget],” she said, although she admitted she was still learning the nuances of city budget-making.

At the same time, with a tight budget, the city should focus on the micro improvements it can make, Cutter said, like fixing potholes.

“It seems like a small thing,” she said, but if it goes too far….” Cutter quickly added that the Public Works Department was doing the best it could with limited resources.

The council member said she wants to take a fresh look at the city’s wish list of capital improvement projects, and try to prioritize these types of small, low-cost improvements. She’ll have her chance to weigh in on the list tonight, when City Council holds a work session on the subject.

Cutter is no stranger to the seemingly mundane nuts and bolts of public infrastructure. In all but one of Cutter’s years on the school board, she served on the facilities and technology committee, which focuses on school buildings, grounds and classroom equipment.

She prides herself on being “strong on common sense,” and said she’s good at collecting a variety of opinions to bring to a discussion.

Another priority for the council member is identifying ways the San Leandro Unified School District and city government can combine resources to benefit the entire community.

Specifically, Cutter said she wants to look at the list of projects slated for funding under the school facilities bond and identify ones that might be practical for joint city-school district use, similar to Bancroft Middle School’s new joint-use track and field. She has her eyes set particularly on Burrell Field.

Cutter said she thought that with her and Mayor Stephen Cassidy, a former school board colleague, serving on the City Council, there would be more trust between the city and its main school district.

“The community can benefit greatly from this,” she said. 

Respect Despite Differences

Cassidy had kind words for Cutter when asked to describe her.

"Pauline is a person of integrity who puts the best interests of the people of San Leandro first," he said in an email. He called Cutter "honest, compassionate and thoughtful."

Given her overwhelming victory last year at the ballot box, Cutter seems able to command respect, even from those who have disagreed in the past with her public positions. 

Cutter had a falling out last year with the San Leandro Teachers Association, the main teachers union, over whether or not to terminate the contract of former school superintendent Christine Lim.

More than 90 percent of the union’s membership voted no confidence in Lim, a decision that was later backed by the school board in a 4-3 vote. Cutter was one of the three who voted to let Lim finish out her contract. 

The teachers union later endorsed Cutter’s opponent, Lopez, in her run for City Council.

Still, Jon Sherr, president of the teachers association, said he had “lots of respect for Pauline [Cutter].”

“Her heart’s in the right place,” he said. “I’m sure she’ll do a great job on City Council.”

Cutter said she would do her best to share important information about city affairs with residents. She said she writes a monthly letter to the Broadmoor Homeowners Association, which she belongs to, and would reach out to other homeowners groups in her area to offer the same.

Cutter said she’s not one to covet credit for a job well done, or shun a good idea because of its source.

“I don’t care who makes the decision. If it’s a good one, let’s go with it,” she said. “I’m content to work in the background.”

On a personal level, Cutter said she’s thinking about “how to reinvent” herself in the event that budget cuts force her to either close down the preschool, or retire and let others take over.

One thing she knows—and which is a potent motivator for her political engagement—is that she wants to hold on to the good life she’s had in San Leandro.

“I want my quality of life to remain the same,” she said. 

Fun Facts about Councilwoman Cutter

Cutter is an avid gardener. She and her husband have a big garden, which used to be the playground of Ziggy, their pet iguana, who passed away last December.

Cutter and her family love to camp and inherited a 24-foot trailer, which they now take on their outdoor adventures.

Every morning by 6:30, Cutter’s husband brings her The Daily Review to read in bed. After that, it’s onto the treadmill for a workout before heading to school.

Cutter says she’s “culturally illiterate.” She says she stopped watching TV when she first ran for the school board.

“When my son said he wanted Californication II for Christmas, I thought it was a video game,” she said.

Correction: The original version of this story stated that Cassidy had voted in favor of terminating former school superintendent Lim's contract. Cassidy was not on the board at the time that vote was taken.