Yes, indeed, smart choice. That is, if they won't negotiate with you, especially on the manner of flight reimbursement. give them a wide berth. It is way too common for private schools to come up with some flimsy excuse for not paying you what they promised in the beginning, and, by the way, that can include more than just flight pay. Bonuses, travel pay and etc. are generally just lures. Moreover, we can't always expect contracts to protect us in China - especially those written by private schools.

Newbies beware! Never except the promise of flight pay at the end of your contract, whether it's with a private school or public school. Monthly payments only. Here's an example of what you can do: At one college where I worked in the past, it was decided that all employees would receive the same flight pay. Seems fair on the surface, but it's not because it costs more to fly to North America than it does to England or Australia. Also, you have to consider the cost of flying from your city in China to either Hong Kong or Beijing. I and a few other of the North American teachers made it quite clear we would not renew our contracts if this imbalance of payments was not rectified. After more than a month of negotiating, we were reimbursed for the past months of payments that were too low and in the ensuing months were paid 200 kwai more a month. Okay, that only amounts to 2000 kwai, but what the hell, I'll bend over backward to keep them honest. So should everyone else. If you don't, you're not only hurting yourself but you're also hurting your fellow FTs; moreover, you're giving the scam artists the green light to continue their unfair practices.

Keep them honest!