More than 100 people jammed into the Baltimore schools boardroom Thursday night to protest the proposed closure of several schools in June.

Students and staff wearing school gear and carrying signs waited for more than 45 minutes for board members to enter.

Led by members of the Baltimore Teachers Union, they chanted, “School starts on time; the board isn’t on time” and “What do we want? Vote no!”

After the board members filed into the meeting room, it took 10 minutes to clear out enough people to comply with the fire code.

The emotional show of force followed proposals to close Renaissance Academy, Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys, Dallas F. Nicholas Elementary School and New Song Academy.

The board has scheduled meetings on the proposals, with a vote scheduled for Jan. 14.

The first speakers said Renaissance and Collegiate had provided a stabilizing force for students in difficult circumstances.

They pleaded with the board not to close the schools and said doing so would cost the city in higher dropout rates and more truancy. They said the small environment and small classes have provided students with support they wouldn’t find in larger schools.

Leon Nowlin said his son recently lost his mother to cancer and the school provided important support during his grief. “They are small. They are intimate,” Nowlin said.

A Collegiate student broke down in tears while testifying before the board. “If I hadn’t came here, I probably still wouldn’t know how to read,” the boy said. He talked about the brotherhood at the school.

When his sobbing stopped, the crowd applauded.