Meeting the boss

It's been quite a mixed up day today. Knowing things were in a state of unknown, I was very confused when only half of my class turned up for homeroom this morning. I think this was actually just a coincidence to the ongoings at school, and that one of the buses was late, but it was the start of a day out of the ordinary.

First lesson took place as usual. But then came a knock at my classroom window signalling all children to go to the Fun House (that's the room where they play/watch DVDs/have whole school meetings) where all the children were sat down in lines and a Disney film was put on. We then all went to a meeting room where we met the big boss.

The meeting went on for about an hour. Not understanding any of what was going on - the vice principle had intended to translate after every point but found this wasn't feasible - all that Lauren and I felt was a room full of anxiety and high emotions. We didn't know what they were talking about and we didn't even know what the outcome of the school status was until one of the Korean teachers wrote Lauren a note saying that the boss was hoping to close the school by the end of November.

The Korean teachers all brought up various points regarding money that he'd just not considered. For instance, by law he has to give a month's notice before making us redundant, so whether we work or not we will have to be paid for December as well to give us time to find new jobs. On top of that, anybody who has worked there for longer than a year is entitled to one month's severance pay, of which he'd not considered either. Moreover, the kindergarten students have paid a graduation deposit, of which contractually they are owed back if they don't graduate. Again, he'd not thought about that. With all these extra financial obligations, it isn't feasible that the school should close down at the end of the week. He claims that he has November's pay packets in his hands, but beyond that, there is no money.

The vice principle has suggested keeping the kindergarten students on for December to get extra money in from their fees. This would work out quite nicely as then we'd only be working mornings for the next three weeks (since the school takes a week off for Christmas anyway) and getting paid a full month's salary. Having said this, once the parents understand the situation, it's touch and go whether or not they will keep their children at the school for the extra time, knowing that the school is going to close.

Either way, we are entitled to December's pay whether or not we receive it. Lauren and I have also been told that we'd be allowed to stay in our apartments until we have found new jobs, which is very convenient. The vice principle feels really bad about our situation and is trying as hard as she can to make sure that we get everything that we are owed.

We met up with our recruiter this evening and she's going to do her best to find us a new placement, but since the school year starts in March most openings aren't until February. But perhaps this is a blessing and will give us a chance to travel in off-peak season and get to know the country a bit better.