Petition to Retain Ms. Kiara Stickney, Second Grade Teacher, Cambrian School District
To: Principal Samantha Haley, Superintendent Kristi Schwiebert, and the Cambrian School District Board of Trustees
From: Parents and Community Members of Fammatre Elementary School, San Jose, CA
Date: October 2025

Introduction: A Beloved Teacher and an Urgent Decision
We, the undersigned parents and community members of the Cambrian School District, urgently request that the Board of Trustees and District leadership reconsider the termination of Ms. Kiara Stickney, the dedicated second-grade teacher at Fammatre Elementary, whose position is being cut due to budget shortfalls.

Ms. Stickney is more than an educator—she is a source of enthusiasm, compassion, and stability for our children at a pivotal stage in their development. Since joining the district in August 2025, she has exhibited the kind of energy, commitment, and love for teaching that every parent hopes their child will encounter in the classroom. 

Who Ms. Stickney Is — And Why She Matters
Ms. Stickney is a lifelong learner and community builder. Bay Area–born and raised, she has dedicated her life to education: serving in the Peace Corps teaching middle schoolers in Indonesia, earning a Fulbright Fellowship in North Macedonia, and completing a Master’s in International Education from American University before returning home to teach in San Jose.​

At Fammatre, she has committed herself wholly to her students. She participates in school events on her off time, advocates tirelessly for the needs of her students, and builds the kind of relationships both with students and their parents that help young learners thrive academically and emotionally. She has the kind of energy and positivity that we are seeing less and less of in the teaching profession, and her love for her job and this community is apparent in the way she has dedicated herself to her classroom and the school community. Removing such a teacher—just as she is establishing bonds with students and families—disrupts classroom continuity and sends a message contrary to Cambrian’s mission of developing a “caring and collaborative community”.​

Context: A District Under Pressure
We acknowledge that the Cambrian School District faces real and growing financial pressures. Declining enrollment (down roughly 110 students from projections this year) has resulted in major losses in state funding under California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), straining the district’s 2025–2026 budget. 

Parents recognize that Measure R, the district’s $88 million facilities bond, cannot legally be used for salaries or classroom teaching positions, as it is restricted to capital improvements. However, the district also draws operational support from Measure BB, a $94-per-parcel tax that directly supports teacher retention and classroom instruction. Reassessing allocations or leveraging that revenue more strategically could preserve essential classroom positions without violating measure requirements.​

The Ask: Collaborative, Transparent Solutions

We respectfully urge the following actions:

1. Pause Ms. Stickney’s termination pending a district-level budget re-evaluation.
2. Convene the Budget Advisory Committee to explore internal fund reallocations and external sponsorship or grant options to preserve front-line classroom teaching positions.
3. Authorize a community-based fundraising mechanism—in partnership with the Cambrian Educational Foundation—to help maintain second-grade staffing continuity for the remainder of the school year.
4. Increase budget transparency so parents can understand the specific constraints and assist in bridging funding gaps responsibly.
    

The Opportunity: Turning Crisis into Collaboration
Cambrian has always been known for its creative problem-solving and community unity. Rather than allowing this financial shortfall to erode quality education, we see this as an opportunity to model a new kind of partnership—where parents, educators, and administrators work side by side to sustain excellence in our classrooms.

Ms. Stickney’s passion, global background, and heart for our kids embody what Cambrian stands for. We ask the district to join us in finding a way forward that keeps her in our children’s lives—and sets a precedent for valuing teachers even in challenging financial times.

In Ms. Stickney, our children don’t just have a teacher. They have a mentor, a role model, and a daily reminder that learning begins with care.

Join us in signing below to urge Cambrian’s leadership to keep Ms. Stickney teaching in our district.

Let’s protect what makes our schools great—one teacher, one class, one community at a time.