Parents and students on Manhattan's Upper West Side held a protest Tuesday ahead of a Department of Education hearing to discuss plans to combine a new charter school with several public schools under one roof.

At issue is a plan to move Upper West Side Success Charter Elementary School into the Brandeis High School campus on West 84th Street.

The building already houses five high schools.

More than 100 people signed up to testify in the hearing before a joint panel made up of members of the Community Education Council and the DOE.

Opponents argue the move does nothing to address the problem of poor education and overcrowding in the district. Others say to put elementary school kids in with high school students is just a bad idea.

"Twenty million dollars of taxpayer money has just gone into this school to be a high school. So the main reason we do not want co-location is the five high schools need to grow. We maybe need another high school, but it makes no sense to make a charter elementary school on the Brandeis campus," said City Councilwoman Gale Brewer.

Members of the local community education council say charter schools turn district kids into second class citizens.

"These schools don’t take kids who are at risk, they don't take kids who are special needs, they don't take English language learners. So what happens is those kids end up going into main stream public schools and they have less resources," said Noah Gotbaum of Community Education Council District 3.

Not all who attended the hearing were against the plan. In fact, some parents in the audience say charter schools are exactly what their kids need.

"The school I’m zoned for gets a 'D.' That’s not good enough for my kids. I don’t believe that’s a quality education. I believe in choice and this gives me another better, amazing choice," said Parent Zoe Stein.

Many in the audience called the hearing itself a sham, saying the Department of Education has already decided to move the school in.

"It’s very difficult to sit and just kind of take that when really are being told you have an opportunity to have an impact. But you can hear from the answers that you’re not really being listened to. It’s just their rationale being told," said Parent Kevin Dahill-Fuchel.

The Panel for Education Policy, which is controlled by the mayor, will vote on the plan Tuesday.