Don't those teachers have the same rights as all other town residents? Maybe they are just interested in keeping the process clean and open. Should they have volunteered to leave? Did you volunteer to leave?

Triple R, it sounds like Justin was merely pointing out that not very many people in the audience are amenable to leaving (FOR EXAMPLE, some teachers). Therefore, how is the audience to be pared down to comply with fire code?

By the way, why would a tax cap even be controversial? Tiverton's annual tax hikes for, say, the last ten years have been far higher than inflation, never mind population and school enrollment trends. A tax cap doesn't go nearly far enough; what should be on the agenda is a tax roll back.

He was saying that teachers, naturally, are for tax increases.

In shorthand while I tried to write a note while following the proceedings of the meeting, I thought the example of teachers was a satisfactory stand-in for the general slate of usual suspects who wish there to be as few barriers as possible to increased town spending.

As it happened, the only movement there was to leaving so as to bring the audience down to capacity came from people who support the cap and wished at least for the matter to proceed. Had the number gotten down to 101, I would have left, I guess, but it's at least somewhat fair for me to characterize myself as media covering the meetings.