Sabattus gives charities $25,000. That’s right, $25,000 in tax money to charities.

The charity people went out of the hall screaming with delight.

As usual, special interest groups were abundant at the town meeting. The ordinary, hard-working taxpayer and the elderly, who whine about how they are going to make ends meet, were sitting home, too lazy to come out the one day of town meeting.

Men and women have died, and are still dying, for people to have the right to vote, and many are too lazy to exercise it.

Well, the special interests are more than glad to do it for others. An easy special interest vote of $6,120,497 for 491 students. That’s $12,465.37 per student, and almost all goes to teachers and administration.

Teachers got $2,113,901; 21 teachers’ aides, $273,385 (you see, the teachers have to have aides because they have a whopping 16 students to instruct); and 48 special ed students got $1,404,784 ($29,266.33 per student).

The new town manager has overseen all the town budgets except the school budget. Why is that? The schools are part of this town. Of course, with cronyism abounding on the school board, he would be outvoted anyway.

Voters have one last chance to redeem themselves, on June 10, with a vote for acceptance or rejection of the school budget. The town cronies and special interests will be there. Will anyone else?

Phillip Webber, Sabattus