Jonathan dragged his hand across his face. ‘Yes, thank you. This is what we need; we need to find creative ways to save money.’
‘That’s decided then. I’m coming in Saturday morning. Anyone else?’ Lydia looked around the hall as the majority of staff members raised their hands and nodded in agreement.
‘I can’t pay you...’
‘We know, but you’re right, we all love this place, and we won’t allow redundancies without doing our best.’ After taking the paperwork from Joanne, Lydia stood up and waved it in the air. ‘Right, I’m off home to read through this. I’ll see you in the morning.’
With Lydia leading the way, almost everyone else left behind her, clutching their paperwork. Many passed and threw a heartfelt ‘thank you’ or words of encouragement towards Jonathan on their way out of the hall.
‘I can’t come in on Saturday. I would if I could, but I can’t.’ Annie turned to Gemma and waved her paperwork in front of her as though cooling herself down. ‘I feel awful.’
‘Don’t. You weren’t to know, and Jonathan himself said he doesn’t expect everyone to. Heck, it wasn’t even he who suggested it.’ Gemma placed her hand on Annie’s arm, stilling her paper.
‘But what if he thinks it’s because I don’t care? What if that moves me up the list of possible people to make redundant? I can’t lose my job, we won’t cope on one wage alone. We’ll lose the house, the cars, the...’
‘Annie, stop. Jonathan hasn’t got a list. He’s told us all and asked for our help because he doesn’t want to make anyone redundant. You’ll be fine.’
Annie nodded. ‘Okay, okay. I’ll go and speak to him. I’ll explain this weekend’s trip to Scotland has been arranged for months, but I can come in any other time.’
‘Good idea.’ Gemma smiled as she watched Annie gather her things and go and speak to Jonathan.
‘Well, this is all a little wild, isn’t it?’ Tania sat down in the chair Annie had just vacated. ‘Good though. It’s good he’s sharing this all with us. And if we can’t save the money together, then at least we’ll know he’s done all he can to prevent anyone from losing their jobs. That we all have.’
‘Yes, it is good.’ Gemma nodded.
‘Right, well, I’m going to get off now. I’ve got a hot date this evening, but I’ll be sure to take a read through these before I go to bed,’ Tania stood up before looking down at Gemma. ‘Chin up, girl. Everything will turn out for the best.’
Gemma looked down at the budget sheet in her hands. She wasn’t so sure of that. Maybe, hopefully, things would be fine in regard to the school, but her and Jonathan’s relationship was most definitely a non-starter. And she had to admit, it broke her heart. Jonathan was the first person she’d had feelings for since Reece, and yet here they were trapped in an impossible position. She pushed herself to her feet and left the hall.
Chapter Twenty
‘Iknow you already have before and after-school clubs on the ideas list, but how about holiday clubs?’ Leaning forward in his chair, Adam tapped the large piece of paper covering the table. ‘I did a bit of maths last night, and roughly we could charge what, twenty-five pounds a day per child? Say, thirty kids in holiday club for forty days a year, well, taking off staffing costs, that could make the school between ten and twenty thousand.’
‘Great, good idea. Write that down, Adam.’ Jonathan grinned as he threw a marker pen at him.
Gemma couldn’t help but smile to see the transformation in Jonathan. In just the couple of days since he held that meeting in the hall, he had relaxed. He was smiling and talking to his colleagues more than he ever had before. Instead of shutting himself away in his office yesterday, he’d roamed the school, helping walk Year four down to the swimming pool and spending time outside on the playground during break and lunchtimes. He was getting to know his staff, the children, and the way the school worked in general.
She looked around the group of people huddled around the lunch tables Jonathan had pushed together in the middle of thehall, and for the first time since Jonathan had told her about the deficit, she felt hopeful. If nothing else, working together like this had already brought the school closer together. Everyone felt the difference; people had mentioned it to her. It may have only been Thursday that they’d had the emergency staff meeting, but the camaraderie between them all had grown, and everyone was determined to do their bit to help the school and to save people’s jobs.
As she turned back to look at the large sheet of paper covered with ideas on how to save or make money, she caught Jonathan’s eye; his smile immediately slipping as a sadness flashed across his face. He felt it too, then. He felt the loss she did. He wondered ‘what if’ too. What if the circumstances had been different? What if they hadn’t met at school? What if...? She looked away and tried to focus on how everyone was working together again, tried to let the warmth fill her heart again.
‘How about we try to limit supply?’ Lydia asked. ‘I know people get ill and can’t help when they do, but we could pull together more? Perhaps cut PPA and step in to cover classes instead.’
Jonathan shook his head. ‘No, PPA can’t be compromised. That’s a statutory right for all teachers. I, though, will step in and cover lessons whenever possible. I can always take office work home to complete.’
A murmur of appreciation swept across the table, and Gemma felt her heart warm at the thought of him sacrificing his own time ahead of others.
‘Right, I think that’s enough for this morning. Adam has spoken to a contact of his about hiring the hall on Sundays for a music school, and I’d like to strike while the iron is hot, so we’re going to head out to a meeting with him. If it goes well, we should be able to pull in a significant amount of money in rentalterms. I’ll also pick up lunch for everyone on our way back.’ Pushing his chair back, Jonathan stood up.
‘Well, we can make a start on auditing the resources in the meantime, then. What do you say, everyone?’ Bertie looked around the group as everyone nodded. ‘Great, let’s do this.’
As the hall cleared, Gemma gathered up her papers and notebook before standing.
‘Gemma, could I have a quick word, please?’ Jonathan kept his voice casual as he cleared away the pens.
‘Yes, of course.’ Hanging back, Gemma waited until they were alone in the hall before walking across to him. ‘Is everything okay?’
After slipping the last of the pens back into their packet, he indicated the chair beside him, and once she’d sat down, he lowered himself into the chair beside her and clasped his hands in his lap. ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’
