Student activists from the northwest Bronx took their fight for more school seats down south – to IS 184 in the south Bronx – where they let Schools Chancellor Joel Klein know exactly how displeased they were with the city’s new Five-Year Capital Plan.

“Build more schools! Build more schools!” they chanted loudly during the public speaking portion of the meeting, often drowning out Klein’s efforts to defend the city’s plan.

The trip to IS 184, where the city’s Education Policy Panel was meeting, was organized by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition’s (NWBCCC) youth division, Sistas and Brothas United. The youth went to respond to the axing of 1,500 seats in the capital plan from District 10 (the northwest Bronx) in Region One and the release of a report saying the city’s high school seat projections are partly based on a 36 percent graduation rate.

The city doesn’t deny that it uses the low graduation rate, but says it considers other factors as well when tallying projections. Many Bronx schools, especially high schools, are plagued by overcrowding, which parents and students say contributes heavily to the low graduation rates.

The Klein administration claims the capital plan will alleviate that overcrowding. Students, parents, community groups and other civic leaders say they aren’t convinced.

Before the meeting, Robert Jackson, a Manhattan Council member, who heads the Council’s Education Committee and is a vocal proponent of New York City public schools, spoke to student activists, telling them it’s a shame schools remain underfunded by the state and the city.

In the IS 184 auditorium, the students, wearing yellow NWBCCC T-shirts, grew restless waiting for their opportunity to speak, which didn’t come until the end of meeting. Meanwhile, the panel discussed summer school statistics (getting better) and new school meals (more nutritious and less trans fatty).

Klein took breaks from playing with his Blackberry (which he checked no less than six times during the one hour meeting) to interject commentary.

When the public speaking portion finally began, two teachers voiced their disgust with the administration’s plan to turn Tilden High School in Brooklyn into a campus of several small schools. Next came a slew of northwest Bronx students and parents, demanding more seats to relieve overcrowding in high schools like John F. Kennedy and DeWitt Clinton.

After each speaker, the crowd went wild, chanting and jumping around like it was a basketball pep rally.

Klein took the verbal thrashing with good humor, smiling through it, even expressing admiration for the students’ enthusiasm. “I want to say ‘thanks’ to the students who came out tonight,” he said. “It’s critical for us to hear from you.”

While Klein did say he would have staff look into the seat projection numbers, he also implied that this is probably as good as it’s going to get. “But let’s be honest,” he said. “This is the largest capital plan in the city’s history.”

Klein clearly wanted to go on, but he was overwhelmed by students, who chanted. “Where are our seats? Where are our seats?”

CAP: Students from the Leadership Institute let Klein, second panelist from left, know they feel neglected by the DOE.