Second jobs common among schoolteachers

Two-thirds of Hawaii public school teachers who responded to a recent union poll said they hold one or more outside jobs, and 41 percent of those earning supplemental incomes said they started working another job in the last one to three years.

The teachers union said the survey, which was not scientific, helps illustrate the significant toll that furlough days, pay cuts and increased medical costs have had on teachers since 2009.

"They (teachers) have families, too," said Wil Okabe, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association. "They have bills."

He added that he was "very surprised" at the high percentage of teachers who said they had another job.

Okabe said he planned to share the results of the survey with policymakers, as the teachers union continues its bid to fight imposed pay cuts and higher medical costs at the Hawaii Labor Relations Board. More teachers working outside the classroom, Okabe said, "definitely has an impact on the teaching profession … (and on) students as well."

The HSTA poll, conducted online this month, had 787 respondents. Some teachers reported holding multiple jobs: 27 percent of those who said they worked outside the classroom had two jobs to earn supplemental income, while 3 percent had three jobs.

Also, many teachers appear to have sought extra income after recent reductions in salaries. About 41 percent said they have held a job outside teaching for three years or less, while 20 percent said they’ve had a second job for a decade or more.

Among Hawaii teachers with outside jobs, 44 percent spent 10 hours or less a week earning extra income, while 30 percent reported spending 11 to 15 hours a week on jobs elsewhere and 18 percent worked 16 to 20 hours a week outside the classroom.

Several public school teachers said the survey results reflect what they see in schools.

Jessica Canyon, a fifth-grade teacher at Fern Elementary, said several of her teacher friends wait tables for extra money. Until recently Canyon worked about 12 to 18 hours a week as a server.

She said she had to quit because the eatery where she worked told her she had to put in more hours or leave. But Canyon is looking for a new second job.

Canyon said she can "make ends meet" with her teaching salary.

"I could live with it," she said, "but I want to live comfortably."

She said she used her extra income for things like eating out.

John Nippolt, who heads the art department at Kalani High School, said he has for years supplemented his income with commissions for his wood carvings.

"It’s something I have to do. We need the money," he said, adding that some of his colleagues work at the airport or at eateries for extra income.

"It’s unfortunate to put teachers in that position," he said.

EDUCATION ADVOCATES say the survey, though far from comprehensive, provides a snapshot into some of the struggles teachers are facing. The poll comes six months after the state imposed a "last, best and final" contract offer on Hawaii’s 12,500 teachers, unilaterally implementing pay cuts, furloughs and increases in health care costs.

The state doesn’t have a good grasp on the percentage of workers overall who hold second jobs, though it’s believed to be higher than other states given Hawaii’s high cost of living. The state Department of Education also doesn’t track whether teachers work elsewhere.

DOE spokeswoman Sandra Goya did say there is no policy prohibiting public school teachers from working outside the classroom. The DOE had no comment on the HSTA poll.

National statistics, meanwhile, have long shown teachers are more likely than other professionals to work second jobs. In 2007-08, the most recent year for which statistics are available, about 16 percent of public school teachers nationwide worked second jobs.

That’s up slightly from 2003-04, federal figures show.

State-by-state numbers are not collected, but some states have followed the trend for years. In Texas, for example, about 41 percent of teachers work outside the classroom, up from 22 percent in 1980, the Associated Press reports. A 2007 survey of North Carolina teachers, meanwhile, found 72 percent moonlight, including working in the summer.

Salaries for Hawaii public school teachers vary widely, depending on education, certifications, years of service and whether a teacher is serving in a shortage area. A starting public school teacher with a bachelor’s degree who has attended a state-approved teacher preparation program earns a base salary of about $43,000, while someone with a doctoral degree earns a base salary of about $57,200, the DOE reports.

Lois Yamauchi, president of the Parents for Public Schools-Hawaii chapter and a professor in the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s College of Education, said she knows several teachers who have to work part time to cover basic household expenses.

"It’s not to be extravagant; it’s just to get along," she said.

Yamauchi said the HSTA survey should prompt further "research and consideration" into the issue of teachers working second jobs. She added that teachers having to work outside jobs should be a concern for schools, especially as the state looks to boost student achievement.

"It’s unfortunate for both them (teachers) and the kids," she said.