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Though officials from Tucson's largest school district scheduled a full presentation on the possible closure of a South Tucson elementary school, district officials scrapped talk of a transition plan Monday night as community members pressed them with questions.

More than 120 people attended the meeting at Ochoa Elementary School, 101 W. 25th St., the first of four schools recommended for closure by TUSD.

It was supposed to be a three-part meeting, but two hours in, Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer announced they would forgo a discussion of moving students, staff and programs from Ochoa to Safford Elementary School to give more time to the question-and-answer session.

Questions ranged from why the board initially voted against school closures to how district officials planned to continue community programs now based at Ochoa .

Parents and students wore T-shirts and buttons that read "Save Ochoa School." The walls of the auditorium were lined with panels displaying various programs and academic achievements at Ochoa. At the rear of the hall were also panel displays from Borton Primary, Holladay Intermediate and Carrillo magnet schools, schools that Pfeuffer recommended Ochoa parents inspect as an option for their students should Ochoa close.

Most of Ochoa's programs, with the exception of the Reading First federally funded program, would be able to transfer to Safford Elementary, where Ochoa students would be sent if their school is closed, Pfeuffer said at the meeting.

The federally funded 21st Century Community Learning Centers program at Ochoa was meant to enhance the neighborhood and build collaborations between the school and community members, Gloria Hamelitz, director of the John Valenzuela Youth Center, told Pfeuffer. How could the program, and all that has been created at Ochoa, simply be transferred to Safford, she asked.

"We're not asking you to change what you are doing," Pfeuffer responded. "We are asking you to consider the possibility of doing what you do elsewhere."

Brian Flagg, an advocate for the homeless who works at Casa Maria soup kitchen, turned his back on Pfeuffer to address the crowd. He said the most important meeting for Ochoa will be March 18, the date of a public forum scheduled to decide what to do with Ochoa. At that meeting, he said, the community needs to change the heart of TUSD Governing Board President Alex Rodriguez, who voted to begin the school-closure process.

"We need one more," he said in Spanish, noting that board members Judy Burns and Adelita Grijalva have twice voted against school closures.

Enrollment, academic performance and campus capacity for growth were the primary factors behind the closure recommendations of Ochoa, Corbett, 5949 E. 29th St., Rogers, 6000 E. 14th St., and Wrightstown, 8950 E. Wrightstown Road, elementary schools, TUSD officials have said.

Similar public forums are scheduled throughout the week at Corbett, Rogers and Wrightstown.

Beginning March 14, TUSD's Governing Board will hold public forums on the proposed closures. The first is at Rincon High School, 421 N. Arcadia Blvd., and it is to be followed by forums at each campus proposed for closure. A decision on the closures is due in April.