I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 33 Ancestors
"No, Director Qiu, we've already held two recruitment meetings. The number of students repeating the middle school entrance exam is already full at 300. My original plan for the high school retake class was 400 students in 8 classes. The second recruitment meeting expanded it to 11 classes. These extra 150 students have already disrupted my current plans."

Zhang Da'an didn't lie to Qiu Jianmin. Instead, he simply stated two figures: "I currently have thirty front-line lecturers. This isn't a regular school where the density of course content can be reduced. The workload here is very high. Do you expect me to fill the only three management positions with front-line lecturers as well?"

"How many more people do you need? I mean, given the current situation, how many people would you need to arrange a normal teaching plan?"

"Fifty-four, one lecturer and two assistant lecturers per course, or one lecturer, one assistant lecturer and one teaching assistant. The labor cost is very high, the fixed expenses are ten times the salary of public school teachers, the overtime pay is double, and the salary and benefits I set are not low per class hour."

“I know that, I know that…”

Qiu Jianmin, who was laughing awkwardly, was also embarrassed. How could he not know that Zhang Da'an's salary expenses alone amounted to more than two million yuan, close to three million yuan? He had even helped to cover up this matter and prevent it from spreading widely.

However, the teachers in Shazhou City already knew about it, otherwise it wouldn't be so lively now.

It's not just a "recruitment boom" that's happening; there's also a "salary increase boom," especially among the third, fourth, and fifth ranked high schools, which have taken the lead in raising the salaries of their teachers and staff.

However, raising salaries is not such a simple matter. The school cannot ask for funding from higher authorities; it can only raise funds on its own, which comes from the school's operating projects.

For example, in high schools in the city, the small shops inside and outside the walls are usually contracted out, and some even have storefronts.

There are also donations from alumni; better schools always receive some, more or less, each year.

Generally speaking, it's possible to negotiate salary increases for contract-based employment, provided that the teacher's qualifications are up to par.

Teachers with regular tenure are unable to benefit from salary increases and can only wait for policy changes to see if they can catch up.

Such incredible salaries and benefits as those offered by "Zhang An Education" are already commonplace in big cities, but they are rare in a small place like Shazhou City.

"Since Director Qiu already knows, why is he still making things difficult for me?"

"How could I possibly make things difficult for you? I won't hide it from you, Mr. Zhang, it's like this..."

Because Zhang Da'an was fishing by the river, Qiu Jianmin picked up a brick and put it under his bottom while they talked, and they chatted like that without any airs.

Uncle Zhang, standing to the side, couldn't say anything. He didn't know anything about this matter. Anyway, he was in the bureau, and in the past, he relied on "Old Company Commander" Qiu Jianmin. Now, his nephew is the top scorer in the national college entrance examination, and "Zhang An Education" is now the largest private education institution in the city.

Hey, aren't you angry?
Those who used to want to criticize Zhang Zhengdong are now helpless and can only try to find some minor issues related to "quality education" and "reducing academic burden".

But it's pretty useless, since the trend of "industrializing education" has already taken off, and whether it's abnormal or not, that's the trend.

Qiu Jianmin spoke at length about the overall planning of the city's education system, mainly focusing on funding for education development.

"...That's the basic situation right now. The educational budget expenditure in Shazhou City won't change much. Whether it's funding or support from higher levels, there will definitely be some balancing involved, mainly within the province. However, self-financing is encouraged, which basically means that if you have project ideas, you have to solve the difficulties yourself. The bureau's own directly affiliated enterprises have fixed annual incomes, and their profits don't fluctuate much. There are also some 'slush funds,' which is quite common. I don't have any way to dig into other people's 'slush funds,' right?"

Qiu Jianmin had originally intended to light a cigarette, but instead pulled out a teacup filled with strong tea from his pocket. After taking a couple of sips of the strong tea, his craving for a cigarette lessened considerably.

"In the past two years, the only truly high-quality new educational institutions that have emerged are your 'Zhang An Education'. There are none else; they're all small-scale operations with only three or five teachers and a couple of small classes. Most of them are also irregular and can't withstand scrutiny. If the higher-ups come for a surprise inspection, they'll all have to rectify and close down. You're different. You're large-scale, profitable, and a legitimate institution. Furthermore, your social impact is relatively positive. So, on behalf of myself, not the bureau, I want to talk to you about this."

"Which aspect is the main focus?"

"That definitely comes down to money. Right now, everyone is short of cash. The salaries of more than a hundred teachers at the farm haven't been paid yet; the renovation of the playgrounds and libraries in the township primary schools also needs to be expedited. We can't just focus on schools in the city and central towns. Also, we want to explore new sources of revenue. It's definitely not feasible for the bureau to directly participate in operational matters, but we can invite the relevant office of the Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission to come and investigate."

"What can I get?"

"A few things, I suppose."

Qiu Jianmin was over fifty years old and had seen too many sixteen or seventeen-year-old recruits in his life, but he had never seen anyone like Zhang Da'an before.

A born "king of soldiers".

This young man...

"First of all, we will definitely provide support in terms of distribution channels. We can help you connect with channels for your publications. Whether it's directly affiliated bookstores in various cities within the province, Xinhua Bookstore, or the provincial publishing company, it's all negotiable. Whether it's agency or revenue sharing, you can make your request. I can guarantee that our main focus will be on supporting your growth, and we will not interfere with your sales or business models."

"Secondly, there's the issue of teaching staff. The bureau can help you select and appoint personnel, and if we're not too shameless, we can help you contact top teachers from other cities. You submit your talent requirements, and we'll act as your go-between. Anyway, I'm retiring soon, so it doesn't matter if I offend people from other cities; I'm not afraid of anyone coming after me."

"There are no barriers to starting a school again. As long as you have the ability to recruit people, whether it's two thousand or twenty thousand, the bureau will find a way to guarantee it for you. We will handle the land around the current site of Xindongwei Port Middle School and help you negotiate with the local government. The land use benefits are not limited to the current area. You can choose any area in the city. Even if you want to rent an office building, you can rent whichever of the two buildings on Renmin Road in the city you like. Everything is negotiable."

"Finally, there are tax and fee incentives. On top of the tax incentives for rural youth entrepreneurs, the bureau can help you be included in the scope of 'outstanding young entrepreneurs,' and then add a three-year tax exemption and two-year tax reduction in the economic development zone, ensuring that you can enjoy all the legal and compliant tax incentives."

Qiu Jianmin listed four support and preferential policies that others wouldn't even dare to dream of, but Zhang Da'an's expression remained unchanged, as if he was still focused on the Seven Stars Floating on the river.

"Gone?"

"Huh? No, that's all."

"That's it?"

Zhang Da'an curled his lip, "Director Qiu, do you believe me when I went to Shanghu City next door, they treated me like an ancestor?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)