Hundreds packed the cafeteria Wednesday night at Thomas Hooker Elementary in Bridgeport to send a message about school finances.

The Bridgeport School District used buses to get hundreds of kids and parents to the event, which was part-pep rally and part-protest. The meeting was designed to demonstrate determination about education and strength in numbers.

Budgets cuts have long been a sore subject within the district, and administrators fear more are coming.

“The superintendent has already expressed that schools will be closed, as well as additional staff reductions,” said Edison Elementary Principal Gladys Walker-Jones.

Another goal of the event was to get more people registered to vote in Bridgeport.