Someone working for the school and responsible for hiring and employing foreign teachers doesn't know how to hire or employee them? What a shock.

This is pretty typical of China, and in general we Foreign teachers know more about the inner workings of visas and education here than the Chinese who work in the same field. That said, the school should be giving people the training and information they require to do the job they are being invested with. Not the case here eh?

I would have little faith in a place where the person who seems to be in charge of hiring foreign teachers doesn't know how to hire them.