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Local Issues Important to Baltimore’s Jewish Community
By Elinor Spokes
We all have issues, don’t we? Who doesn’t? In the fall, just as Mother Nature shows us signs of seasonal change such as falling leaves, cooler temperatures and noticeably shorter days, political issues come to the fore as our community, state and country gear up for an election season once again.
Each election cycle, candidates try to address and raise the issues that they feel are present on most voters’ minds. A proliferation of campaign signs clutter the landscape, each one bigger than the next, vying for our attention.
As voters, constituents and residents, our issues are not always what the incumbent politicians and political hopefuls talk about. Often the issues about which we are most concerned are not the ones that show up on the radar screens of our local politicians and media outlets, but the ones that touch us on a daily basis.
This month iNSIDER spoke to several individuals in the Baltimore Jewish community because we wanted to know what was on their minds.
For Octavia Shulman, a resident of the Reservoir Hill neighborhood of Baltimore City, public safety is a big concern. Consequently, she anxiously followed the race for the Baltimore City State’s Attorney as she felt the outcome could change the way criminals are processed in the city’s judicial system.
Perhaps a greater concern to her is the quality of the public school system. Although she loves city living and her community, she bemoans the fact that she does not feel that she can send her daughter, Eden, 3, to the local schools. The issues of poverty and lack of socialization of many of the students, which she believes are most evident at the elementary school level, are the primary reason for her reservations.
“Anyone who can afford it sends their kids to the private schools,” she says. When Eden is old enough, Shulman will consider day school or perhaps a local charter school.
“I have seen firsthand the issues in the local schools,” Shulman remarks about her experience volunteering at the local elementary school. “There are so many issues that a teacher has to deal with beyond the lessons they have to teach.”
The issue of economic development also weighs heavily on her mind. She would love to see more retail establishments in and around her neighborhood, as Shulman feels that the corner stores are not sufficient. She says that it is the new residents, the ones who moved in to gentrify the neighborhood, who feel entitled to retail and new development.
“All of the residents are so economically diverse that often the interests don’t come together to get anything done. There seems to be a plan for some retail development, but it always seems to stall in the implementation phase,” she says.
The issue of public education looms large in the lives of Pikesville residents Jessica and Josh Lubek as well. After living in Baltimore for two years during Josh’s medical training, the Lubeks moved to Portland, Ore. for a job before choosing to return to Baltimore for better career opportunities. The couple chose to rent a home in Pikesville because of its location and its strong community.
In preparation for their oldest child to begin kindergarten next fall, they know that they will have to decide where to buy a home soon. Jessica Lubek admits that they are scared to leave Pikesville because of all the conveniences and the friends they have there, but they have reservations about the public schools. At the same time, she says they are scared to commit to paying for their two children to go through private school.
A native of the suburbs of Detroit, Jessica Lubek notes that most children attended public schools when she was growing up and that the same is now true in Portland. “This school issue here is unique,” she notes. “For me this is a shock because this is not what I am used to.”
So Jessica Lubek has undertaken considerable research to evaluate the educational options for her children. She keeps watch on the standardized test scores and class sizes, relies on word-of-mouth and asks a lot of questions of parents whose children are in the schools.
“If the schools are good, people will flock to a place where it is good to raise a family. When you have lots of young families, businesses do better and there is a ripple effect. Young families can help support community and stimulate a local economy,” she says.
The Lubeks will be making a decision about where to put down more permanent roots by next summer or fall. “I think this is a very nice community; we liked it enough to move back here. If we did leave the Pikesville area, it would be because of the issues with the schools,” she adds.
Eric Gordon, who lives in the Quarry Lake community with his family, notes that his issues have become very child-focused now that he is raising two young children. The issues of education and public safety have become much more important to him, although he is also concerned about larger, more national concerns of the economy, the course of our country and the state of affairs in Israel.
Having grown up in Nassau County, N.Y., where it was rare to attend private schools, Gordon questions why the private school option is such a popular one here in Baltimore. When he and his wife, Sheri, a Pikesville native, chose their neighborhood, the schools were a consideration since they hope to use them for their children.
Public safety is another issue that Gordon reflects upon, noting that if it is a problem it can have an enormous impact on a community. He believes that improving public safety in whatever form that takes should be of the utmost importance. “We want to feel safe and we want our children to receive a very strong public school education,” he remarks.
On the whole, the issues that Gordon notes do not trump the positives of the area. They chose to live in the area because they find it very kid-friendly, with lots of opportunities and a true sense of community. “It is easy to find people in a similar stage of life with whom we have a lot in common,” he says.
Public transportation and the quality of the public schools are the issues of concern in the life of Veronica Weiss and her family. Transplants from Austin, Texas, they were accustomed to using the free bus system there. Weiss resents all of the driving and dependence on cars here and wishes the public transportation system was more comprehensive.
With three children under the age of six, public education is also an enormous concern to this Mount Washington family. Although the family serendipitously moved to the neighborhood last year, they were happy to learn of the solid reputation of the local elementary school where their oldest child is now in the full-day preschool.
Weiss notes that she would like to see better funding for early intervention programs in the city public school system. Having lived in Philadelphia for a short time, she notes that the Baltimore City Public School system is far less efficient at processing requests for services than in Philadelphia.
Despite the effort of Baltimore City to get its residents to recycle, Weiss says that schools do not recycle, which she finds to be hypocritical and wasteful.
Public parks is another issue for Weiss. She says that she has seen a lot of graffiti on park equipment and an overflow of trash and debris around the park she frequents with her children. She feels that the communities should organize neighborhood clean-up days and take ownership of their parks, and not wait for the city to do everything.
Although she lives in Mount Washington, where she has the benefit of several food markets within an acceptable radius of her home, Weiss notes that the lack of markets in the inner city must be a problem for its residents.
Many of the issues of concern for these young families are not ones that seem to be the focus of this fall’s election. Shulman adds that she feels that there are many larger issues, national and statewide, at stake this election season, but it is on the local level that she will notice the greatest difference.
Those larger issues, she says, “are not the issues that keep me up at night. It is the local issues that affect me every day that are my greatest concern.”
Octavia Shulman, who lives in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood of Baltimore City: “It is the local issues that affect me every day that are my greatest concern.”
Like most Baltimoreans, education is of primary concern for Jessica Lubek and her family.
In addition to local issues, Eric Gordon, who lives in the Quarry Lake development of Pikesville, is concerned about the economy, the course of our country and the state of affairs in Israel.
Photography by Kirsten Beckerman
