Ex-manager of Del Mar motel will get to keep his teaching job

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Wednesday, June 15, 2005 | 10:43 a.m.

A business and marketing teacher who moonlighted as manager of an adult motel will get to keep his day job, Clark County School District officials confirmed Tuesday.

Clark County School District officials began investigating teacher Ed Kammer last month after his job as night manager at the now-defunct Del Mar motel came to light. The Las Vegas City Council revoked the motel's operating license May 5 after Metro Police determined the property had become a haven for prostitutes.

No criminal charges have been filed against Kammer or the motel's owner, his father-in-law Edgar Wrenn. Wrenn's attorney said the motel's business tripled and profits rose to $500,000 annually when the owner's son-in-law took over operations about three years ago.

Bill Hoffman, senior legal counsel for the district, said personnel confidentiality blocked him from discussing the specifics of the investigation. But Hoffman said the investigation has been closed and Kammer remains a full-time employee of the district.

In general, if an investigation of a teacher indicated violations of Nevada law, "We would consider appropriate administrative action based on a wide variety of circumstances, including the employee's past history and the seriousness of the incident," Hoffman said.

There is nothing prohibiting teachers from taking on additional employment provided it does not interfere with their classroom duties, district officials said.

Kammer was most recently assigned to Valley High School. Whether he will return to that campus or another position in August was not known. Calls to Kammer's Henderson home were not returned.

John Jasonek, executive director of the Clark County Education Association, pointed out that Kammer's managerial work raised no eyebrows or red flags until the motel drew the attention of Metro. And now that the motel has closed and Kammer is no longer employed there, the question of whether his moonlighting posed a conflict is moot, Jasonek said.

It's not unusual for school employees work nights, school vacations and summers as parking attendants, cocktail waitresses and even exotic dancers, Jasonek said. And in a teacher managing a motel, even one that rents rooms by the hour, is a "non-issue," Jasonek said.

"In this town, if Metro doesn't find anything criminal, it's like a stamp of approval to something that might not be acceptable in other states," Jasonek said. "The real issue here should be that we've got teachers having to work two and three jobs because the state will not pay them a living wage, especially the younger ones."