About 250 teachers and support staff representing early childhood, primary and secondary schools throughout the wider district gathered at Dunstan High School yesterday to oppose the measures.
Most Central Otago schools either closed, had half days, or operated with fewer staff.
The Government is calling for a change in funding models, meaning education providers would receive a ''global budget''.
This would require them to balance funding between staff members and operational costs.
At the meeting, New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association executive member Jill Gray said the proposal was a ''radical change to school funding''. It could result in fewer qualified teachers and the end of minimum staff numbers for schools, she said.
Kidsfirst Cromwell Kindergarten teacher Christine Brown said the proposal meant ''bulk teaching''.
''We'll have bigger class sizes and less energy to do the job we were trained for and that we are passionate about.
''When teachers' wellbeing suffers, stress increases, and the quality of teaching for the child also suffers. We are, after all, only human.''
Rebecca Anderson, who works at Goldfields Primary School in Cromwell, said as a support worker, she had already experienced the impact of ''bulk funding''.
''It means low wages. Many support staff are paid only just above the minimum wage, and are a predominantly female workforce.
''We are often locked in fixed-term contracts and that means at the end of each year we don't know if we'll have a job to come back to after Christmas.''
Union members privately voted on what action to take against the proposal after the meeting.
