"Mr. Lu, Mr. Song, you're here. Please come in!" Yan Shunmin, the principal of Shiwan Village High School, was so excited that he was speechless when he saw the party secretary and the village head. He enthusiastically went to the principal's office and shouted, "Ms. Li, come and pour us some tea."
Lu Yiwei entered the principal's office. The dim light shone on the mottled wall. Behind the desk was a picture of Chairman Mao and Lenin. On the side was a classic quote by Premier Zhou, "Studying for the rise of China." The office was only about ten square meters. The floor was still covered with bricks. Even the sofa was antique and was uneven.
Lu Yiwei could not imagine that the teaching environment in the second largest town in Nanyang County was worse than Beihe Town High School. It owned more than ten coal mines. Even if each coal mine was a relief point, it would be enough to build. But what had the village leaders been doing all these years? Where did the money go?
"Standing Committee Member Lu, Village Chief Song, welcome to Shiwan Village High School to guide the work. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to prepare. If there's anything I didn't take care of, please forgive me. "Yan Shunmin was extremely nervous. He stood on the floor and kept rubbing his hands.
"Come, Principal Yan. Come and sit down." Lu Yiwei patted the sofa and gestured for Yan Shunmin to come over. However, he did not dare to sit on the same level as the county leaders. He took a chair and sat opposite Lu Yiwei respectfully.
"Old Yan, introduce the situation of the school to Mr. Lu and Mr. Song, especially the difficulties and problems," Deputy Village Head Fan Chunfang urged, hoping that Lu Yiwei could solve the problems.
Yan Shunmin was in his forties. His hair was half white and he looked haggard. He complained helplessly, "Mr. Lu, Mr. Song, the history of Shiwan Village High School can be traced back to the Republic of China. After the founding of New China, a new teaching building was built on the original site, which is the building we see now. It has a history of more than forty years. At present, there are more than 500 teachers and students in the school, including 21 teachers and 496 students. There are 12 classes in the junior and senior high schools. Last year, 10 students passed the college entrance examination and one was admitted to the North China Electric Power University. Apart from the severe shortage of teachers, I am also responsible for the poor quality of teaching … "
"Wait!" Lu Yiwei interrupted Yan Shunmin and said, "You said that there are only 21 teachers in the school? Can this be taught? "
"Sigh!" Yan Shunmin sighed and said, "This is the biggest problem that middle schools are facing right now. There's a huge shortage of teachers. To what extent was the shortage? A teacher would often have to teach four to five classes a day, and even then, they would not be able to allocate all of them. For example, English teachers were extremely scarce. There were only three of them in the entire school, and they had to teach all the lessons of the six grades. One could imagine the pressure. We had no choice but to hire some private teachers. Even so, it was still difficult to maintain normal operations. Yesterday, a private teacher left because he couldn't get his salary. We couldn't do anything about it. "
After listening to Yan Shunmin's complaints, Lu Yiwei's mood was especially heavy. He looked at Song Yong and asked, "How many private teachers did you hire? How much is their monthly salary? Who will bear the cost? "
"We have hired more than 10 over the years. Currently, there are 7 left. They are paid 300 yuan a month. It's pitifully little, but there's no other way. I have talked to Village Head Fan about the salary many times, but the village always used the excuse of not having enough money as an excuse. We have been relying on loans to maintain our livelihood. Until now, we still owe them July and August's salary. Sigh! "
The average salary of Nanyang County's administrative institutions was more than 600 yuan a month. Enterprises were slightly higher, reaching more than 1,000 yuan. It was normal for temporary workers to get an average salary of 300 yuan, but for private teachers, 300 yuan was too little. Lu Yiwei thought of the reimbursement from two days ago. A meal could cost up to tens of thousands, but the teachers' salary could not be paid. It was really disappointing.
Lu Yiwei's face was tense. He turned around and asked Fan Chunfang, "Is what Principal Yan said true?"
Fan Chunfang also nodded with a heavy heart and said, "Basically."
"Village Head Song, how do you think this can be resolved?" Lu Yiwei threw the problem to Song Yong.
Song Yong had experienced this before, but Yan Shunmin's complaints had moved him, who abhorred evil. He clenched his teeth and said, "Old Yan, why didn't you tell me about this earlier? How about this? Come to my office tomorrow. Regardless of whether the township government has money or not, pay the teachers' salaries first. Also, from next month, all private teachers' salaries will be doubled, and paid by the village government. "Song Yong was rash and did not care. He said casually, shifting the pressure to the village government.
"Aiya!" Yan Shunmin was so moved that his eyes were burning. He grabbed Song Yong's hand and shook it. "Village Head Song, you are the benefactor of our middle school. No matter what, I thank you on behalf of all the teachers and students. Thank you, thank you …"
Since Song Yong had boasted so much, Lu Yiwei couldn't go back on his words. Considering the bigger picture, he said, "Since Mr. Song has promised to settle the salary of the private teachers, it is also an important part of the Shiwan Village government's investment in education. But this is not a long-term solution. You have to go to the county more often and look for the leader in charge of education to settle this matter once and for all. As for doubling the salaries, it is not very realistic. If the private teachers earned the same amount as the official employees, it would definitely cause a negative impact if word got out. How about this, the salaries will not change, 300 RMB per month. The village will pay the arrears first. As for the future, you have to think of a way. Out of support for education and care for the teachers, the village government can give all the teachers a living allowance of 300 RMB per month. What do you think? "
It was the same thing. Song Yong handled it like a gangster, but Lu Yiwei handled it more skillfully. It was not a salary increase, but a living allowance. Moreover, it took care of all the teachers. In this way, the other teachers would not have too much of an opinion.
Yan Shunmin was a little disappointed when he heard that the opportunity had flown out of his hands. But this had already solved a big problem for him. He said gratefully, "Thank you, Mr. Lu, for supporting our work. Please rest assured, our middle school has fully cooperated with the village government's central work. We will do our best to achieve good results."
"Okay, let's talk about other problems." Lu Yiwei did not like to listen to these empty compliments. It was better not to say it. It would be more sincere if he said something practical.
Yan Shunmin sighed again. He looked around the office and said, "Mr. Lu, let's talk about the teaching conditions. As you can see, this building is really dilapidated. Not to mention the leaking air, the key thing is that it makes people tremble with fear. When there is extreme weather like a rainstorm or snowstorm, people do not dare to stay in the classroom. Take the snowstorm before the New Year for example. Fortunately, the holidays came early, or else people would have died. The teaching building has reached the point where it must be repaired. "
Nanyang County's education system is the same as other counties and cities. It is under the unified management of the county's Education Bureau. The Education Bureau has set up a central school in the village and is responsible for the daily management of all the schools in the district. Although the village government has a deputy mayor who is in charge of science, education, and health, his function is limited to the county's Education Bureau. He does not have the power to interfere with the county's finances and personnel. It is like someone giving their child to you for foster care without spending a single cent. You still have to subsidize the child. If the child is sick, you still have to treat him in time. If he can't survive, you still have to give him living expenses. If he has any difficulties, you still have to solve them. It is very domineering.
Lu Yiwei frowned and said, "Doesn't the county's Education Bureau know about this?"
"How can they not know?" Yan Shunmin was a little agitated. His tone changed, and his hands trembled as he said, "I have looked for Chief Gao more than ten times, but he kept rejecting me. He said that he has too little food and too many children, and that he can't take care of this. He has to be fair and take care of everything."
At this time, deputy mayor Fan Chunfang added, "Standing Committee Lu, I have also looked for Chief Gao many times. His attitude is ambiguous, and he even made some sarcastic remarks. He said that Shiwan Village is rich, and the village government can pay for the construction themselves. The Education Bureau only has so little money, and it is not right to give it to you but not to other schools!"
"This Gao Dayu!" Lu Yiwei hit the sofa's armrest angrily. After thinking for a while, he said, "How about this, I will look for Gao Dayu to sit down and listen to his opinion. The village will try its best to fight for funds for you, but you have to actively work hard to get financing through various channels. It is an indisputable fact that the county's finances are tight. It is unrealistic to rely on the county alone. You can go to the city and the province more often. "
Speaking of this, Yan Shunmin suddenly thought of something and said, "Standing Committee Lu, I heard that this year, our province will have a batch of Yifu School Buildings donated by the Shao Enterprise Foundation. There are two places allocated to our city, and one of the places might be placed in Nanyang County. Should we fight for it?"
The Shao Enterprise Foundation was founded by the famous Hong Kong film producer and entertainment tycoon, Shao Yifu. Since 1985, Shao Yifu had spent an average of more than 100 million RMB every year to support various social welfare undertakings in the mainland. He had a special liking for China's education.
According to incomplete statistics, as of 2001, Shao Yifu Foundation had donated more than 3,000 projects in China's universities, middle schools, and primary schools, covering 31 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions.
Hearing this news, Lu Yiwei's eyes lit up. If this news was accurate, he could fight for it. He nodded and said, "I will ask Huang Dayu about this later."
After returning from Shiwan Village, Lu Yiwei asked Fan Chunfang, who was beside him, "Mayor Fan, Shiwan Village's economic conditions have been pretty good for the past two years. Why did they not pay attention to education? Where did the money go? "
Fan Chunfang turned around and pointed, saying, "Do you see that?"
He saw the densely packed temples on the mountain in the distance. Lu Yiwei asked in confusion, "Isn't this the temple built by Qin Erbao?"
"Qin Erbao did invest, but most of the money was provided by the village government. Over the past few years, they have spent more than ten million."
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