A trustee for the Capistrano Unified School District stepped down this week, saying she and her family faced harassment after she voted against repealing mask mandates ahead of the March 11 date recently set by the state.

Pamela Braunstein was one of four trustees who voted Wednesday, March 2, against a proposal to immediately lift on-campus mask requirements for students and teachers. The 4-3 vote to defeat that proposal means the district will continue to follow the state’s mask guidance, so masks will be required by the district through March 11 and “strongly recommended” thereafter.

Braunstein’s departure means Capo Unified will either appoint a new trustee or hold a special election to fill her spot until the November election. That process could begin as soon as the next board meeting.

Braunstein, who was elected in 2020 to represent Capo Unified’s second district – including much of Ladera Ranch – could not be reached for comment. It is unclear if she filed a police complaint related to any specific threat.

A spokesman for the district declined to speak for Braunstein, but he did confirm her departure and said that tension has sometimes been high at some Capo Unified board meetings.

“I don’t know about specific threats of violence, but meetings have been more attended and sometimes more volatile,” said Ryan Burris, the district’s chief communications officer.

“There are a whole bunch of issues playing into it,” Burris added. “It’s not just masks and COVID. It’s critical race theory; it’s sex education. People feel strongly about a lot of issues.”

Burris said the district has hired more security guards and asked for additional sheriff’s deputies to attend some in-person board meetings. The district also has put up a fence around the building where meetings are held to make sure people outside can’t bang on or break windows. At meetings that draw the biggest crowds, he added, members of the public sometimes are asked to wait in hallways or outside until it’s their turn to speak.

“We believe in the right of public expression and we want feedback,” Burris said. “But we want to make it safe for everyone.”

Last month, a Capo Unified meeting was temporarily adjourned when a member of the audience who was scheduled to speak said he was unvaccinated and would not wear a mask.

But the district’s security measures for meetings haven’t prevented members of the public from threatening trustees in other settings.

Burris would not comment on specific incidents but said trustees have “expressed feeling unsafe” after receiving social media posts and texts – messages that in some cases have been shared with district security and police.

“It’s a pressure cooker,” Burris said.

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