MIAMI -- A marathon meeting of Miami-Dade's School Board failed to get the district any closer in closing a $284 million budget deficit.

The street outside the school adminstration building was lined with teachers and school police protesting possible cuts to their jobs and income, as the contentious meeting ran on inside before a standing room only crowd of district employees.

After hours of speakers and contentious discussion, the board rejected a "reduction in force" plan that would have eliminated more than 500 jobs in the district to save $33 million.

A force of school police and their families rallied holding photos of weapons and drugs they say were taken out of schools. They were protesting a plan to cut their positions to a ten-month workyear.

"Once these officers realize that's gonna happen, they're gone. I'm gone," said school resource officer Howard Giraldo. "Who are you going to hire; what are you gonna use to recruit someone to come to work for ten months?"

Teachers, afraid of losing their hard fought raises if the district declares fiscal a state of emergency, argued the cuts should not come from the classrooms.

"Look at everything else," said Yolanda Williams. "I do understand that's a difficult a decision because when we have to budget in our homes, we, too, have to decide what can go."

The meeting ran well into the early hours of Thursday morning by the time the board also voted not to cut salaries of the highest paid administrators. That decision was 5-to-4.

The cost saving measures that did pass the board included cutting more than $23 million from schools funding and a 19 percent cut to the budget of the school board attorney's office.

Last month, Superintendent Rudy Crew proposed contracting the district from six regions to four, and requiring unpaid furlough days for himself and other administrators.