Kelly Gutierrez

Staff Photo by Dan Henry Kelly Gutierrez teaches five-year-old Rahul Patel how to swim during his second swim lesson at the Hamilton Place YMCA on Thursday. Mrs. Gutierrez, a second grade teacher at Rossville Elementary School, decided to teach swim lessons during her summer break to earn a little extra.

After finishing her first year of teaching at Rossville Elementary, Kelly Gutierrez was faced with what to do with her free summer months. She got a job teaching swim lessons.

"I knew I wanted to fill some time over the summer," she said. "(My husband) is not quite done with school and he only has a part-time job, so I knew I could help financially in that way."

Many teachers in Northwest Georgia and nationwide opt to spend summer break working another job to bring in extra income -- or just to fill their spare time.

"Teachers always want to be busy," said Mrs. Gutierrez, whose parents are both teachers.

Although teachers are paid for only 180 days of work, their checks come year-round. In Georgia, teacher salaries range from about $31,000 to $46,000, depending on years of experience and level of certification, according to the 2009 state salary schedule.

As the economy continues to sag, some educators say working during the summer months is essential. But even before the current recession, some said a teacher's salary doesn't always pay the bills.

Davis Elementary School principal Mike Rich spent 13 years teaching before becoming an administrator. When he began teaching in the 1990s, his salary was just shy of $20,000 a year.

At that time, Mr. Rich and his wife both worked as teachers. The couple has two children and it was essential that Mr. Rich work over the summer.

"It wasn't really extra money," he said. "We had to have that income to make the family budget run."

Rossville Elementary School teacher Candy Britton, a single mother of three teenagers, said working over the summer at Cracker Barrel allows her to give them more -- a trip to Six Flags or extra clothes.

Some area teachers stick to their craft, teaching in summer school or at an area community college.

Mr. Rich said that when he began teaching, he spent summers working at a family construction company, but eventually he started teaching summer school, which he said paid more.

But according to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2004 Tennessee and Georgia teachers earned about $2,000 more working outside the school than teaching in the summer.

Some teachers said they work to keep busy and continue giving back to their community as much as for the extra money.

"I couldn't just sit at home," Mrs. Gutierrez said. "I've got to be out. I love helping people. I think that is in a teacher's blood, to socialize."

Some educators do take advantage of having the summer months off to travel or spend time with family.

"We joke around that our families suffer because we are giving to our students," Mr. Rich said.

"(The summer) is time to spend with their families. (Teachers) really devote time to their kids. To me, that is work, too."

BY THE NUMBERS

* $31,586: First-year base salary in Georgia

* $46,384: Base salary for a teacher with more than 21 years of experience

* $2,600: Average earnings for teaching summer school in 2004

* $4,300: Average earnings from nonschool-related job

SOURCE: 2009 state salary schedule, National Center for Education Statistics