Taxpayers should be grateful to the residents who researched the process and filed a citizens’ petition for action on a topic that’s been churning around the rumor mill for a long time, with no action from the boards. We said last week that the boards should insist on an audit. Now we believe that voters should insist, too. The Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, and School Committee should support this citizens’ petition for $25,000 for an outside audit of the town’s $3,000,000 special education spending. Residents should authorize the spending at Annual Town Meeting, and should withhold their votes from anyone running for election or re-election who questions the need for such an audit. And of course the town would hire only professionals, who are bound by professional ethics to maintain confidentiality.