It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

That, in a nutshell, describes the budget process for Columbia County government and the school system.

For the county government, keeping a lid on personnel expenses as growing sales-tax revenues help fuel a building boom has allowed the county to cut taxes three of the past four years.

It’s official.

As the Lakeside High School graduates crossed the stage Saturday to pick up their diplomas at the James Brown Arena and Air-Horn Test Facility (“Our Locks are Glue Free Since ’93”), for the first time in 20 years, I no longer have a child attending Columbia County public schools.

Let’s start with a couple of definitions: A “prank” generally is a harmless practical joke. “Vandalism” causes physical damage.

What happened last week at Greenbrier High School was not a “senior prank,” even though it was committed by four of the school’s seniors. It was vandalism, pure and simple.

The price tag for that vandalism, which destroyed 43 locks on the school’s exterior doors when the teens squirted powerful glue into them: More than $5,100.

There are times when I look at how our elected officials spend our tax dollars and I shake my head in amazement, asking: “What are these people thinking?”

I’ve done a lot of head-shaking over recent discussions about a new stadium for Arthur Blank and the professional football team he owns, the Atlanta Falcons.

It appears that the World Congress Center Authority will agree to build that new stadium for Blank, despite the fact that the Georgia Dome is less than 20 years old and would have to be torn down.