It began with dozens of arrests for civil disobedience, but a weeklong series of Capitol budget protests mellowed by late Friday afternoon into what resembled a giant high school pep rally.

Spectators banged cow bells, blew whistles, applauded speakers and chanted slogans such as "no more cuts," "save our state" and "si se puede" on a sunny day ideal for T-shirts and shorts.

By all accounts, the crowd fell far short of the 10,000 that organizers had said was possible. A Capitol peace officer estimated the number at 1,000, while the California Teachers Association pegged attendance at 2,000 to 3,000.

Similar events were held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego to press the case for a five-year extension of temporary tax rates that are scheduled to drop this summer, trimming state revenue by $9 billion to $11 billion per year.

Joe Nuñez, CTA associate executive director, said the weeklong series of protests "created a huge awareness of the plight of schools" that could intensify pressure on lawmakers.

"We think the message has been getting out to voters and to parents about the state of schools and why we need to extend the taxes," he said.

Thirteen speakers – ranging from education to labor to clergy officials – took to the podium, exhorting wildly supportive spectators to fight for students, schools, state services, public-sector jobs and lower college tuition.

"We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore," said Martha Fluor of the California School Boards Association.

Because of arrests that followed Capitol protests twice during the past week, the California Highway Patrol was out in force – six officers stood beside the south entrance, for example – but the crowd was not bent on mischief.

CTA President David Sanchez was among 26 teachers union members arrested Thursday night for failing to leave the Capitol at closing time, the same offense committed by 65 teachers and students Monday.

"I don't regret one moment of what I did – or what they did," Sanchez said Friday.

Republican legislators, who unanimously oppose extending the current income, sales and vehicle tax rates, were a target of derision Friday by numerous speakers who accused them of recalcitrance that will drag the state into mediocrity.

Sanchez led the crowd in chants of "do your job" and "that's not right," barbs clearly targeted at the GOP.

Several speakers suggested that not only do taxes need to be extended, but for corporations and the wealthy, they need to be increased as well.

"It's wrong for big corporations to pay little or no taxes," Sanchez said. "That's wrong."

Key speakers included Art Pulaski of the California Labor Federation, Yvonne Walker of Service Employees International Union 1000, Jeff Freitas of the California Federation of Teachers, and state schools superintendent Tom Torlakson.

The rally ended with the Rev. Carol Been, a Lutheran representing Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, leading a prayer for the tax extension so that "those who have the most share the burden of those who have the least."

No Republican lawmakers were visible in the crowd, but party representatives said Friday that CTA's criticism was misguided because the GOP supports full funding of education without suspending Proposition 98 or burdening taxpayers by extending or hiking taxes.

Assembly Republicans this week released a budget plan that would fund education at the same level that Brown proposed in January, partly by directing toward schools a bump of $2.5 billion in tax revenue that exceeded projections through April.

"I have a compassion for our classroom teachers, but these big union tactics will not sway my opinion that massive tax increases are unnecessary," Assembly Republican leader Connie Conway of Tulare said in a written statement. "Taxpayers expect their hard-earned dollars to go toward a quality education for our children. Just this week, Assembly Republicans presented a pathway to close the deficit – without tax hikes – while fully funding education."

Democrats ridicule the GOP budget plan as a gimmick-filled approach that would force the state into another deficit next year.

Friday's protest came just three days before Gov. Jerry Brown is scheduled to release a revised budget plan.

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