BALTIMORE — Crime, vacant housing, policing, and education were all topics that were discussed at the town hall in East Baltimore.
"We've got a whole lot of issues that we really got to talk about and make some good decisions to work towards and work through," Bishop Gregory Dennis said.
Faith leaders with the organization ACT Now are hoping to be a bridge between community members and community leaders.
"I'm hoping that you know tonight we get to a place where we can start collaborating and working together to come up with some solutions to try to make things better for our young people," Pastor Terry Thornton said.
"We invite you to have a conversation as our guests, but we're still going to have the conversation if you don't show up," Rev. Dr. S. Todd Yeary said.
Four council members were invited to attend; only Councilman Antonio Glover attended, but he showed up close to an hour late.
Councilman Zeke Cohen did not attend because of the religious holiday.
People talked about the council's role in solving issues, one of those issues being education.
A lot of people were concerned about students not having proficient math test scores at 13 Baltimore City High Schools.
"It's not acceptable for us, and we were glad to hear that it wasn't acceptable for them, but that's not enough, right? It's that we have to make sure that we again come up with a plan with how we do something," Gregory Dennis said.
Many are worried about where the school funds from the city and state are being spent since the scores are so low.
In May, the school board announced a $25 million investment in tutoring, with an extra $1.5 million specifically for math.
People want answers about spending and are hoping the money is used in the right way.
"We cannot let our children down. I know we want to put it on one entity, but there are so many places where we need to come together and make things work."
Despite the council members being absent, the ACT Now faith leaders promised the concerns of the people would be heard by council members one way or another.
