MADISON, Wis. -- Families in the Madison Metropolitan School District attended a meeting Wednesday night to talk about the proposed consolidation or closings due to budget cuts.

TALKBACK: What Do You Think?

District officials shared information at several meetings about the plan, which includes possibly closing Black Hawk and Sherman middle schools as well as Lindbergh Elementary School.

Parents and students at the meeting had many questions and concerns about the proposal, WISC-TV reported.

"I don't think you should close Sherman because the school has brought many great memories and friendships in my life and in many other Sherman staff and students' life," said Becky, an eighth-grader.

"I don't want a big elementary school. I want to know all the kids that are in my class. If you add another school that will be impossible," said Greta, a fourth-grader.

More than $8 million in cuts are proposed district-wide.

A group of nearly 70 people also held a rally just before Wednesday night's meeting. Parents said they are on the side same, even if some schools are being pitted against each other.

It's not the first time the group has rallied against the proposed consolidations, but now they are formally calling themselves the Citywide Coalition for Quality Neighborhood Schools.

"I think we're all very supportive of other schools. We don't want any neighborhood schools to close," said Nancy McClean, co-president of Lapham-Marquette P.T.G.

Protestors said they will stay united even though in several school board plans, some of their home schools could close at the expense of saving others.

"We'd prefer to keep them all open, and if we have to suffer some other cuts then I think we're willing to do that," said David Cohen, P.T.O. president at Black Hawk Middle School. "We support each other 100 percent."

Many protestors said they hope to at least postpone the decision to allow alternatives that might come later.

"We are hoping that either a referendum will be passed next February or some money will come in from the state and we won't have to close neighborhood schools," McClean said. "We're hoping to get the message to the board not to make irreversible cuts."

"I think many other people in the city of Madison are interested in them looking at other alternatives," said Faye Kubly, an organizer with Citywide Coalition for Quality Neighborhood Schools.

The group said that with the consolidations, larger class sizes and transferring schools would be more harmful to students than other potential cuts.

School Board President Johnny Winston Jr. said they were hoping to finalize a plan by April 16, but said he thinks that date will likely get pushed back. He said there are still a lot of people who want to weigh in on what's best for the district.