MADISON, Wis. -- Parents rallied on Friday to save their schools days before the Madison School Board finalizes its plan to solve the budget crunch.

Keeping Madison's neighborhood schools open at all cost was the rallying cry of parents and their children on Friday.

"This is not just about Marquette and Lapham. This is about all of Madison schools," said Dea Larsen Converse, a Marquette parent and rally co-organizer.

The school board proposed a plan to close Marquette and merge those students at Lapham school, and the opposition to that early plan has given way to a full-fledged concern over closing any neighborhood school.

Parents signed their children out of school on Friday to rally to keep all schools open, WISC-TV reported.

"We have to do something different that people don't kind of expect and try to get a lot of people out," said Maria Moreno, a Lapham parent and rally organizer.

The school board is expected to finalize a budget on Monday night. The district is forced to make $8 million in cuts. The rally was planned even though school board members said it is unlikely that schools will be closed.

"It's not over until it's over. The budget situation is dire. I know there are a lot of different budget amendments on the table, and who knows how it's going to go on Monday night?" Larsen Converse said.

"We support neighborhood schools. We like small classes, and this is really the fabric of our neighborhood," Moreno said.

Parents said they plan to take their signs to Monday's school board meeting to voice their concerns.

The district has identified seven different plans for closing and consolidating schools on the East Side. Superintendent Art Rainwater said he backs a plan to close Lindbergh School.