Castellanos, a former public school teacher for over 20 years, became Trustee of Area 5, which covers a portion of Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel, in 2019 after the board appointed her to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Gary Pritchard.
Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees President and Area 5 Representative Krista Castellanos will run for re-election in November amid several controversial events and actions during her tenure.
“I am running to ensure our students remain safe on our school campuses and obtain the support they need to succeed in life,” Castellanos said on her campaign’s website. “The students are my priority and I will continue to fight for high academic standards, and maintaining high performing art and music programs. My focus has always been on the classroom.”
Castellanos, a former public school teacher for over 20 years, became Trustee of Area 5, which covers a portion of Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel, in 2019 after the board appointed her to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Gary Pritchard.
She later won her current term in the 2020 general election.
Over the last six years, Castellanos has been involved in the removal of former CUSD Superintendent Kirsten Vital Brulte, the outright denial of charter schools in the district, and rejecting a parental notification policy that would require schools to alert parents if their child is transgender or if they are experiencing mental health issues.
In November 2022, Castellanos and two other trustees voted to deny California Republic Leadership Academy to open as a new charter school over concerns from some community members about potential religious curriculum and diverting funds from traditional public schools.
The following month, Castellanos announced the board voted 4-3 to release Superintendent Brulte from her contract, emphasizing the decision was made “without cause.”
Although the board did not provide a specific reason for the termination, speculation suggests it may have been politically motivated, drawing surprise and criticism from some board members and the community.
In October 2023, CUSD — Orange County’s largest school district — Castellanos joined three other board members to reject a policy to alert parents about their child’s mental health or transgender status.
Castellanos joined three other board members, saying procedures already exist for school officials to report student mental health issues to parents.
“There are resources out there for you as parents, and that’s important for us to communicate those out to you,” Castellanos said, according to local media. “We can always do a better job at communicating and better transparency.”
Castellanos will face Sonia Terwiske, who legally immigrated to the United States at the age of 12 after her parents from India sold their companies to move to Orange County.
