Ron Callaway has worked for about a year to open a coffee kiosk known as the Java Junction.

The Lawrence High School math teacher managed to open the place last week, at least temporarily, in the parking lot of Checkers Foods, 2300 La.

“You see these things all over the coast,” Callaway said. “Lawrence supports lots of coffee places, so I think this will work. It’s just something I’ve wanted to do.”

Hot coffee hasn’t been a big seller in the summer heat, but it seemed the right time to open Java Junction. Callaway and his wife, Liz, a teacher at Sunflower School, had some time away from their full-time jobs.

Teachers working a second job are about as common as eggs for breakfast — and not just during summer break, said Peg Dunlap, director of instructional advocacy for the Kansas National Education Assn. Most need the income to make ends meet.

“At this point, I think every school district in Kansas would be thrilled if they could pay teachers enough where it would be their only job,” Dunlap said. “I think districts would be happy to be able to because employees who can devote their attention to their primary job can do a better job than those whose attentions are diverted because of an economic issue.”

Nothing prevents teachers from working second jobs — in the summer or at other times.

“They do have to be in the classroom 186 days, and that’s required,” said Mary Rodriguez, human resources director for the Lawrence school district. “That’s the critical piece.”

And Lawrence Supt. Randy Weseman said he didn’t take issue with teachers working second jobs.

Lawrence High School math teacher Ron Callaway hopes to find success in his new business, the Java Junction. Callaway and his coffee bar, built in a mobile hut, set up last week in the parking lot of Checkers, 2300 La. Wednesday at the shop Kathy Mehl, Lawrence, had a mocha freeze. Callaway is one of dozens of moonlighting teachers.

“I had second jobs when I was a teacher,” Weseman said. “I built decks and painted houses.”

Many teachers couldn’t buy a house, have a family and send children to college on a teacher’s salary alone, he said.

Christine Valcich, who teaches at Quail Run School, said one of the reasons she began working at Sylvan Learning Center nine years ago was to put away money for retirement.

“It’s something I began thinking about and realized I really need to save,” she said.

Valcich said the extra income also helped pay for classes to keep her teaching license up to date.

Lots of moonlighting

The exact number of Lawrence teachers holding second jobs isn’t known, but Weseman and Wayne Kruse, former president of the Lawrence Education Assn., reckon the percentage is pretty high.

Kruse said second jobs held by most teachers probably have some association with education, and that teachers could earn supplemental incomes at junior high and high schools by coaching or being a club sponsor. Several elementary teachers work at Sylvan, 4920 Legends Drive.

“And then a smaller percentage of them work another job like at a store or painting houses,” Kruse said.

6News video: Teacher grinds away over the summer (7-22-04)

A teacher survey is asking questions about second jobs, said Sam Rabiola, the current president of LEA, the bargaining unit that represents the district’s teachers.

Every five years since 1966, the National Education Assn. has conducted a survey known as the Status of the American Public School Teacher.

In 1966, it found 18 percent of teachers had a job outside the school system during the summer. In 2001, the percentage was 19 percent.

About 37 percent of teachers surveyed in 2001 said they received additional pay from the district during the school year. That percentage has increased steadily from a low of 14 percent in 1971.

And the percentage of teachers earning wages through outside employment was about 13 percent in 2001, up from 6 percent in 1971.

Salaries now frozen

Weseman said if it were up to him, he would provide teachers a year-round contract and better salary.

“The way it is isn’t any way to run a railroad,” he said. “But it’s not my decision.”

In 2003, the average salary for Lawrence teachers was $38,356. The starting salary for a teacher new to the district without experience is $26,825 plus benefits, Rodriguez said.

Salary increases have been delayed for all Lawrence school district employees for 2004-2005. The school board endorsed a negotiations committee recommendation that the increases for teachers’ salaries would wait until the Kansas Supreme Court and Legislature determine education funding levels.

Between 1999 and 2003, annual salary and fringe benefit increases for teachers ranged from a low of 3.5 percent in 2003 to a high of 5 percent in 2002.