Ideas for Seattle

On behalf of Mayor Mike McGinn, welcome to Ideas for Seattle. The strength of our city comes from our talented citizens. We need your input so that we can work together to make Seattle a better place for all of us. Join in the conversation. Sign up today.

City Forum

Welcome to Ideas For Seattle. Here you can contribute your ideas for the future of our city. You can also vote on existing ideas submitted by your fellow citizens.

To get started, simply choose a category from the list on the right. Then search to see if your idea has already been submitted. If it hasn't, you can then submit it for others to discuss or vote on.

  1. 328 votes

    Sell surplus schools such as MLK to the highest bidders as long as some community use is retained

    Sell the surplus MLK school to the highest bidder, an independent school such as Bush wants to make a playfield and playground that will also be open to public after school hours. This does not cost the taxpayers anything and gives the neighborhood what they wanted most, a play area. The school... more

  2. 110 votes

    Encourage public schools to reevaluate math programs

    Science education in Washington state is dangerously bad, and shameful considering our wealth of local high-tech companies. Encourage the local school districts to pay attention to teachers and recommendations for proper math curriculum, not just the latest fad. Read UW professor Cliff Mass's blo... more

  3. 93 votes

    Turn the surplus MLK elementary into the Martin Luther King Jr Commmunity Center, not a soccer field

    A community center would serve far more residents of Madison Valley/Central District/Madrona/Madison Park/Seattle, than the alternative choices of a 3rd private school in the area or a 6 acre private school's 2nd soccer field. A community center will honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy by p... more

  4. 63 votes

    public education that rivals the eastside

    I have a 4 year old and I don't really want to move to the Eastside just so she can go to school there. I'm not alone in this. Seattle's public education is an embarrassment compared to the Eastside, that's a fact. We need to get our schools so that they are nationally recognized and that peop... more

  5. 23 votes

    Support before and after school care in all K-5 schools.

    There's plenty of evidence that kids do better in school-based care. Strong communications between the City and SPS can help improve efforts.

  6. 10 votes

    Move Ballard High School boundary to include Olympic Manor and North Beach

    Just 1.5 miles from BHS, kids in these neighborhoods should be allowed to walk to their community high school, not made to sit for hours on buses to a school far outside their community. The current boundary at 85th is inconsistent with the school board's new policy. The city should intervene t... more

  7. 10 votes

    enact a youth jobs program to reduce crime, improve transit/cyclist/pedestrian facilities

    Do the "million little things" that are needed to improve the livability of our city, at a low cost, while getting youth invested in their community and building / preserving strong work ethic.

  8. 9 votes

    Direct these comments to the Superintendent of Public Instruction

    The issues and comments are intereting and laudible, but they are the responsibility of the Superintendent of Pubic Instruction, not the City of Seattle. City government could add a layer of adminitration, it is not likely that City management could do much to improve what happens in the classro... more

  9. 4 votes

    Allow more charter schools to be built.

    Charter schools have been very successful in cities like New York, and have shown that they do a better job than public schools in the same area. In order for our schools to be the best, they need competition from another source that is dedicated to the education of the kids and not job security.

  10. 4 votes

    Help fix the achievement gap by ending segregation in our schools - let any child go to any school

    Seattle schools, based on school boundaries, are heavily divided along racial and income lines. This needs to be fixed! There is a clear qualitative difference between primarily minority and primarily white schools in our city, and it is a disgrace. Give every student a fair chance at the school ... more

  11. 4 votes

    New tiebreaker for school assignments

    I think that instead of "closest neighborhood school within the boundary lines" for assigning kids to middle/high school, it should be "closest school via metro route". Proof? Middle/high school kids in the district are forced to take Metro or provide their own transportation,... more

  12. 3 votes
  13. 3 votes

    Full Time College Students Should be able to get Affordible Housing!

    I was turned down for affordible housing because i want to be a Full Time College Student! if im able to go to college full time i can move out more quickly because i got a better job after college. it will help encourage more broke people to go to college and get a propper education.

  14. 2 votes

    Do not forget SEATTLE Sister Cities!

    I am a moderator/editor of the CouchSurfing Uzbek team page ”Adventures on the Great Silk Route”,we have here an Extra thread called “SEATTLE and TASHKENT are Sister Cities!”
    The related link is:
    http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=11123
    Unfortunately, there are no replies from Seattle!... more

  15. 1 votes

    A Better Educational System using all Lottery profits

    A better educational system to help build our future. Well, state and local government gets profit for lottery, I say let put the profit, ALL OF IT, to work for the future! Better schools, salaries and overall better education!

  16. 1 votes
  17. 1 votes

    Vegan Lunches

    Makes healthy vegan school lunches or lunch options. Kids dont need to be eating cheeseburgers, or pizza. Nor do the meat and dairy industry need our public tax dollars. Teach them proper sustainable nutrition in the public venue.

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