If it's Spring, it must be time for the annual budget dance. First move goes to the city manager who declares one of his periodic hiring freezes. These are becoming like orange terror alerts, the response being 'ho-hum'; however, like clockwork comes the actions of Councillor Caulfield using the manager's freeze to criticize the school department for not doing the same. So, are the schools supposed to leave teaching positions empty? This is the time of year when most of the school department hiring has to be done, otherwise we'll have empty spots at the front of the classroom in September. It's a typical example of city hall tactics - discredit the schools before the budget process even begins.