Whereas, the West Side Relief Elementary School is planned by HISD and a name for the school has not been established;

Whereas, Mark White was Governor of Texas from 1983 to 1987 and accomplished a great deal for public education;

Whereas, Mark White was the only Texas governor who was educated in HISD schools and his mother, Elizabeth White, taught in HISD schools for 27 years;

Whereas, when Mark White became governor, Texas was a low performing state in SAT scores and teacher salaries. He appointed a committee on public education, called a special session of the legislature, and passed the Educational Opportunity Act (EOA) which resulted in SAT scores being increased 12 points and teacher salaries being increased by $5,000 which is the largest proportional salary increase for teachers in the history of Texas. Among other reforms, he enacted first time health insurance benefits for retired teachers;

Whereas, as a part of the EOA "No Pass, No Play" was enacted to ensure that students would make passing grades before they participated in extracurricular activities. James McSwain, principal of Lamar High School, said "'No Pass, No Play' achieved the intended outcome by requiring all students to put academic accomplishment ahead of everything else. It even infuenced collegiate behavior";

Whereas, regarding the education reform in 1984, the president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, Gayle Fallon, says "He was the first governor to do comprehensive reform of education including an analysis of the teacher pay schedule. He also made it a point to involve educators in the design of the reforms";

Whereas, Mark White was the chairman of the Houston Independent School District Foundation from 2004 to 2008; and

Whereas, Mark White's wife, Linda Gale White, has been a leader since 1983 in Communities in School in Houston which is the largest organization to support at risk children in public schools;

Therefore, the undersigned request that the Westside Relief Elementary School be renamed Mark W. White, Jr. Elementary School.