Like many San Leandrans, I understand that local politics matter and I take voting seriously.  I know both candidates who are running for City Council District #5 and I want to thank them for running.  A competitive race makes for a better representative and it is just a shame when any individual is able to “walk on” to a board or council.  That said, I am putting my vote behind Pauline Cutter for City Council.

 

As an active parent in our schools, I have worked with Pauline over the past six years, the last two of which I have served as a fellow trustee of the San Leandro Unified School District.  While Pauline and I have often disagreed on important matters, we have a mutual respect for each other.  I know Pauline to be a conscientious and hard working trustee who takes her duties as a representative of San Leandro seriously.  Pauline is responsive to constituent concerns and strives to seek consensus among disparate groups.

 

I also know Pauline to be extremely diligent and conservative when it comes to matters of budgeting and project over sight.  Her work as chair of the Facilities & Technology Committee for the past 11 years has been critical in the success of bond projects.  Pauline has made certain that contract amendments were reasonable and that every penny spent was done so with the utmost fiduciary stewardship.

 

As trustee, at the forefront of Pauline’s mind is always the question, “what’s best for the students?”  As City Councilwoman, I have no doubt that she will continue to approach every problem with the question, “what is best for the people of San Leandro?” and that is why she has my vote.

 

Morgan Mack-Rose

 

Both candidates are seeking the seat held by Bill Stephens since 2002.  Term limits limit the Mayor and members of the City Council to two consecutive terms.

 

With 11 days until the election, Cutter has $3,230 in her campaign account, compared to Lopez' $1,450.

 

Overall, Cutter has raised $21,617 and Lopez has raised $9,827, not including the $13,121 she has loaned to her campaign.

 

Future financial statements are due on January 31, 2011.  Between now and the election, any contributions or expenses of more than $1,000 must be reported within 24 hours.  The election will be held on November 2, 2010.

 

Semi-annual campaign statements for active campaign accounts were due October 21, 2010, and are summarized below.

 

Pauline Cutter, San Leandro School Board Trustee

 

Cutter reported $3,230 on hand at the end of the reporting period with no outstanding debt.  Cutter's contributions included:

 

Corina Lopez, Human Services Commissioner

 

Lopez had $1,450 at the end of the reporting period with $13,121 in debt. The campaign received the following contributions:

• $500 from Bulmaro Lopez, a truck driver in Soledad
• $250 from car dealership owner Anthony Batarse
• $100 from lobbyist and former California Assembly Member Johan Klehs

 

February 16, 2010

 

SAN LEANDRO — Even with a bleak financial situation and looming budget cuts, all is not gloom and doom in the San Leandro school district.

 

A state-of-the-art, three-story, 38,000-square-foot freshman campus is rising on three acres between Bancroft Avenue and East 14th Street, just a short walk from the high school.

 

On Thursday, school board trustees Pauline Cutter, Carmen Sullivan and Diana Prola toured the site with Interim Superintendent Cindy Cathey and Assistant Superintendent for Business Song Chin-Bendib during a meeting of the district’s facilities committee.

 

“To finally see the structure is amazing,” said Sullivan, a member of the campus’ design team.

 

Construction began in December 2008, and the campus is 75 percent complete, on budget and on schedule for completion this summer, said project manager David Harding, of Harris & Associates.

 

The $46.1 million facility will have 29 classrooms capable of housing 800 students, a gym with a regulation basketball court, and a kitchen and cafeteria with a covered, outdoor picnic area.

 

Freshmen will attend classes at the facility starting in the fall, which will relieve crowding at the high school.

 

Assistant Principal Daniel Hillman said the freshmen will still be involved in common activities at the main campus. But the separation should alleviate some of the stresses and difficulties that arise from the transition from middle school to high school, he said.

 

The school board voted in December to name the freshman campus the San Leandro High School, Fred Korematsu Campus, in honor of the San Leandro civil rights icon who refused a federal order to enter an internment camp during World War II.

 

Four signs will display Korematsu’s name — three on the main building and one mounted in the ground.

 

The cash-strapped school district is paying for the freshman campus with funding from Measure B, a $109 million school facilities bond that San Leandro voters approved in 2006.

 

“It’s so exciting to see it go from obtaining the land to planning to fruition,” Prola said.

 

Measure B Funding Augmented by $26.3 Million in Matching Funds

 

 

Cindy Cathey, who has been with the district over thirteen years as a teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent, will be the interim superintendent during the search for a new superintendent.

 

First—the GOOD news!

 

Measure B bond construction projects are on schedule and under budget – and the district has been able to leverage an additional $26.3 million in matching funds and grants to augment the Measure B funding.

 

* The new Ninth Grade Campus, 13801 Bancroft Avenue, was recently named “San Leandro High School, Fred Korematsu Campus,” after a San Leandro resident who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998 for his work on preserving civil rights.  The school is slated to open this fall.  This will significantly address the high school’s overcrowding issue by providing classrooms for approximately 700 students.

 

* At the main high school campus, the library addition should be ready for students within the month.

 

* The Performing Arts and Education Center continues to be on scheduled and will eventually house a 550-seat theater and state-of-the-art multimedia classrooms.

 

* This summer, the high school will see many of the leased portable classrooms removed and the campus reconfigured a bit to give students more access to open space.

 

We continue to work down our long list of modernization needs throughout the district, including upgrading roofing and HVAC, as well as remodeling all school restrooms.

 

Now—the not-so-good news.

 

The District is required to submit a budget for the current year as well as two years out, each with a positive ending balance.  Massive cuts keep coming from Sacramento so we have been cutting operational expense to the bone.

 

With state revenues still declining, we are once again anticipating significant cuts.  Unfortunately, there are no harmless cuts left to be made; we are down to directly affecting the students and classrooms.  In the coming month, the School Board will once again hold meetings for public input to prioritize the next round of reductions.  Please attend.

 

Additionally, the steep curve resulting from “No Child Left Behind” legislation has made us a “Program Improvement District,” a designation that comes with a host of new mandates.  More mandates, less funding – a frustrating equation not new to public education.

 

 

 

Pauline Cutter, parent volunteer and member of the board of the San Leandro Unified School District, told FilAm Star she believes she and her family share many core values with the Filipino community, not only in San Leandro but also elsewhere in the Bay Area.

 

“I work hard to make sure I can keep my promises to people, I work at the grassroots level with my neighbors, I know how to involve people to help get all voices and opinions heard, and I know how to lead groups to consensus so all parts of the group feel they have helped shape the final result,” she said.

 

Since declaring her candidacy in August, Cutter has received broad-based, grassroots support across the city. Among the first to come out and pledge his commitment to help Cutter win the Filipino vote is Fil-Am community leader Hermy Almonte, a first-term school board member.

 

“I am truly proud to have received the endorsement of Hermy, an elected leader who is very active in the Filipino community,” she declared.

 

On Thursday, Feb. 4, Cutter formally kicks off her campaign at Zocalo Coffeehouse at 645 Bancroft Avenue in San Leandro, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The launch is being hosted by honorary campaign chair Peggy Combs, a member of the city’s Recreation and Parks Commission, who recently announced her exit from the District 5 City Council race and endorsed Cutter.

 

At the launch, Cutter looks forward to sharing her ideas for further advancing San Leandro as a city of choice to work and live, where cultural diversity has always been considered a

cornerstone of the city’s progress.

 

“My husband, Scott, and I made the commitment to raise our three children in San Leandro to expose them to the rich diversity this area has to offer …. what a gift to give your children – acceptance and understanding of so many different cultures and traditions,” she said to FilAm Star.

 

Through her work as a parent educator and director of a parent coop preschool, Cutter works with 50 new families who join the coop each year. And for each of the past five years, according to her, she has served at least five to eight Filipino families.

 

“My job is to respect each person’s differences and use that diversity to make a strong group that can teach our children, and parents, how to get along in this society,” Cutter pointed out. “And it is precisely this every-day skill that I intend to bring with me to the city council, to make sure we are listening to everyone, to make sure everyone has a voice in the community and government.”

 

Asked what sort of program she might strengthen to better serve minority groups in San Leandro, including the Fil-Am community, Cutter instinctively said, “Education.”

 

She continued: “It is important that we provide people with information on how they can be involved in their community and ensure their voices are heard. Another way of ensuring a cross-section of San Leandro is represented would be to bring more voices and opinions into the decision making process in advisory roles.”

 

Cutter, who has been serving the school board for three terms now, has been very visible in her involvement with local schools, social groups, sports organizations, and community events.

 

 

“Despite my passion for helping to solve problems and bring positive leadership to San Leandro, I’ve realized that I have to pay attention to other priorities in my life right now,” Combs stated. “I have confidence that Pauline will bring a high level of competence and leadership to the City Council and am pleased to endorse her candidacy. I look forward to her serving as Councilmember to increase the responsiveness, inclusiveness and transparency of our City government.”

 

Pauline Cutter, who was first elected to the San Leandro School Board in 1998 and has since twice been reelected, praised Peggy Combs, a longtime friend and neighbor.  “I completely understand Peggy’s decision to not run at this time and realize it was a difficult choice to make,” said Cutter.  “We have many of the same goals and work ethics and I am honored to receive Peggy’s energetic endorsement, which represents a major advantage to my campaign.  I know people respect what she has done for San Leandro.”

 

Combs’ contributions to the community include serving as member of the steering committee for the school district’s first bond campaign in 1994, co-chair of the successful Measure A school bond campaign in 1997, and currently vice-chair of the Shoreline Citizens Advisory Committee and member of the City’s Recreation and Parks Commission.  Combs recently left her long-time position as Development and Operations Director for Building Futures with Women and Children, a local non-profit serving the homeless and battered women and children.

 

In addition to providing her valued endorsement and support, Combs will serve as Honorary Chair of the Cutter campaign and volunteer her time and advice on strategy and fundraising.  She joins former San Leandro School Board Member Louis Heystek, campaign manager, and former School Board Member Ken Pon, treasurer, on Cutter’s committee.

 

“Peggy’s participation will be huge,” Cutter said.  “Her deep involvement in the community and knowledge of the inner workings of the city will give my campaign an added voice in getting my message out.”

 

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 and raise a family.  As a three-term School Board Member, Cutter believes her common-sense and results-oriented approach has prepared her to serve as a member of the City Council.