Gymnastics wasn't Jacques Achille's first choice.

But the sport gave him the opportunity to represent Glenbard East High School after failing to make the roster of another athletic team at the Lombard school.

"It showed me how much we need a wide range of extra-curricular activities so kids can find their place in high school," the 17-year-old Bloomingdale resident said.

Achille says he now fears other Glenbard High School District 87 students won't get the chance he did if district voters reject a property tax hike.

District 87 officials have outlined major cuts that would occur if the Nov. 2 ballot request is not approved. It would include cutting about half of the sports, clubs, drama and music programs at the district's four high schools.

"It's a really big issue," Achille said. "Because if this referendum doesn't pass, the high school experience is never going to be the same."

Achille and hundreds of other students from all four Glenbard high schools came together Sunday to publicly show their support of the property tax request.

The student rally at Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn at times looked like a sporting event. People filling the stands at the Glenbard West football field cheered, clapped and chanted as the bands played music.

The crowd quieted only to hear a lineup of speakers explain how their athletic teams and student groups would be affected by the proposed budget cuts.

Most importantly, parents said, the two-hour event was organized by students.

"I got choked up when I found out they were putting this together," said Illiana Ebbole of Glen Ellyn. She has a freshman daughter attending Glenbard South in Glen Ellyn. "This is so wonderful."

Matt Begale, a senior at Glenbard East, said students are getting involved because they feel threatened about what might happen to their schools.

"The programs that we want to go to school for are the ones that are going to get cut," said the 17-year-old Lombard resident, who was wearing a T-shirt that students designed to raise public awareness about their cause.

For some homeowners, especially those who don't have kids in the school district, the referendum request is just about money.

The district will ask voters to increase its tax rate by 45 cents. The plan is to boost the rate 27 cents the first year and 18 cents the second.

School officials estimate that if the tax request is approved, the owner of a $300,000 house will pay about $285 more to the district in the first year and an additional $142 more in the second, totaling $427.

Glenbard South student Katherine Tuan says the number that most concerns her deals with classes. If the measure fails, daily courses would be reduced from seven per day to six.

The 18-year-old Wheaton resident said that would reduce the chance students have to take classes as electives.

Even though she's a senior, Tuan spoke Sunday because the change would affect her 16-year-old sister, Jessica, who is a junior at Glenbard South.

"I just want her to have the same opportunities that I had," Tuan said.

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