Had an issue with this at a previous school where two teachers clearly needed to be let go - for different reasons, but both very egregious - and when the HoS tried to get them ousted the Board told them ‘No’ due to fear of parent reaction. This caused the school to descend into a near chaotic mess as the two teachers then felt invincible and started acting out even more blatantly and the Board started treating the SLT like pariahs. The Board ended up firing the Director of Operations and both the HoS and Deputy HoS left at the end of the year in protest. Just a word that firing incompetent (or otherwise) teachers isn’t always as cut-and-dry as it seems. Often there are major politics being played behind the scenes.

with respect to what wrldtrvlr123 said, you can get around the having to claim 6 months in US by filing for an extension - this allows you to file your (first time overseas) taxes in October rather than April - which then allows you to claim being out of country for the required number of days. Once you file the extension - the next thing is to REMEMBER to file in October - and use an online program (TurboTax, etc) to efile. Unless you have property, retirement and investments, etc., it's actually quite simple. I've done it for 14 years and never used a "guy."

Along with what wrldtrvler123 said, be sure and verify that the school in Qingdao is paying taxes - most Chinese run schools don't and the tax rate here is usually upwards of 20-25% - making that $32,000 a whole lot less.

That said, there's more to do in Qingdao - in terms of cities to live in it's the better of the two, however with all things stated the way you have, I'd call it a draw. Do your homework with the schools and get everything in writing.

Just read articles like this:

http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM5MTc ... t_redirect

I passed on a very lucrative offer for the pollution factor alone. It should be a huge consideration.

i have been working as an IT for a number of years now. i have no other income other than what is earned overseas. i do have student loans that i am repaying back in Canada. i looked on the Canada Revenue Agency website here:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs ... u-eng.html

My question: Should I be filing a tax return each year? Will I end up owing a bunch of money to the Revenue Agency if/when I return to Canada?

Help, please!

Thanks.

As much as I want to beat a dead horse, I do need to add my 2 cents here:

Why attack only WASC? Why not CIS or any other accrediting agency? While it is true that WASC (and all accrediting agencies) should take a closer look at some of these schools, they can only do so much in a site visit and follow up reports - making complaints does put schools on their radar and does raise the red flag to them, but there are many factors that go into accrediting a school - human resources management is but one of those factors.

Rather than focus on the accreditation of the school, why not focus your energies on the school itself. In China, each city has it's own Education Bureau - all schools, including International ones - must be registered with the Bureau and have certain requirements to remain viable and active in that city. Take your complaint to them and you'll probably have a better chance of causing change/improvement.

Just my thoughts.

Our High School group went to Nepal this year - said it was an awesome experience.

As with any decision of this magnitude, I would not seek the opinion of a bunch of people in a forum - I would seek out professional opinions of those who would have facts - medical personnel. Ask her to get a couple (or three or four) of opinions from different doctors and then make an informed decision based upon what they say the overall risk is. If the risk is minimal, she might consider the job. If the risk is great, perhaps she should rethink it. I would not make this decision lightly or based upon whims or feelings, for sure.

Hope all turns out well for her.

It seems that the original post of "looking for information" was a scam because now PaulJorg is slamming the school and it's teachers. Why was he/she looking for information in the first place if he/she has already had his/her child(ren) at the school for 2+ years and seems to already have an opinion? I agree with the others - if you (collectively - anyone who is reading this) are unhappy with Clifford School, move your children to one of the other multitude of schools in Guangzhou - I've heard great things about AISG.

I concur with Marieh - you can either invest yourself (takes a little research, but can be done) or find a reputable investor in your local area (back home). Depending on your age - if you're at the start of your career, it's worthwhile to look at high yield/higher risk investments; lower yields/lower risk as you get closer to retirement age. The key is to diversify - don't put all your money into one fund or account. Look at your overall needs and decide if you want liquidity or if you're satisfied with putting the money away for a time and only taking it out at retirement - if you take it out sooner, you will incur penalties. All of this type of investment advice is easily found via Google. I'm not a money guru by any stretch of the imagination. Do what's best for you.

School I am moving to gives you "retirement" of 6.5% of annual salary at end of contract year (paid once in last pay of the year) and you can do what you want with it...invest on your own, spend it, roll around in it, or burn it.

It's not a lot of money, but it's better than no money towards retirement at all.

Off topic a bit, but talk to an Elementary teacher about teaching vs prep load. 10 preps out of 40 would be heaven. :)

There are many schools in Shenzhen that are not listed:

International School of Nanshan Shenzhen
Buena Vista Concordia International School
Nanshan Chinese International College
Shen Wai International School
Green Oasis School

I've probably missed a couple as well.

Right. From my understanding the tax is only on income - if you provide official receipts on items like rent, etc., then you do not pay any tax on those items.

What I am wondering however is it the experience of those people who are in the know that more schools are asking FT to pay the tax on their income or is it still prevailing policy for the school to pay this tax? I've run into a couple of schools where they are offering higher salaries, but asking the teacher to pay the tax.

Just wondering...

Just a question of curiosity for those who live/work in China:

Are most IS still paying all taxes for foreign staff (as most know the tax laws changed within the last year or so) or are more IS starting to ask staff to pay tax themselves?

I have seen some large pay increases in some IS in China. For example the foreign hire is offered upwards of $70k but then are asked to pay the taxes, which I've seen advertised at around 30%, which then translates to an after-tax income of $49k - still pretty decent by most China standards.

Anyone else seen this, heard of this, or is otherwise aware if this is a trend or an anomaly?

Thanks.