Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's desire to grow the population of Baltimore and the release of the city school system's mediocre scores on a national standardized test were reported within days of each other earlier last week ("Baltimore students' test scores still lagging," Dec. 8; "Mayor's goal: 10,000 families in 10 years," Dec. 6).

With city services and resources already stretched to the breaking point, Baltimore doesn't need more people. It does need thousands of more jobs and a dramatically improved school system for those citizens already living here.

Marc Raim, Baltimore