Analysis of the Clarksdale Municipal School District's eight magnet schools in relation to accountability status and per student expenditures

This descriptive case study investigated eight magnet schools in the Clarksdale Municipal School District (CMSD) in relation to Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) accountability status and expenditures before and after implementation of the magnet school program for the purpose of determining whether positive or negative changes occurred. Using multiple school district and statewide data sources, the investigation was delimited to CMSD to assist school district officials in clearly and concisely determining whether or not the decision to establish eight magnet schools resulted in a positive outcome in relation to MDE accountability status and expenditures. The accountability status and expenditures were analyzed for the 8 schools four school years prior to implementation of the magnet school program and 5 years following implementation. A conversion chart was developed to ensure that comparisons could be made between the school years reported prior to magnet school implementation and the school years in which the magnet school concept was implemented. Positive changes in relation to accountability status occurred in 2 (25%) of the 8 CMSD schools after implementation of the magnet school program. Magnet school implementation had a negative, little, or no impact in regard to accountability status for 6 (75%) of the 8 schools. Implementation of the magnet school program did not improve accountability status for CMSD schools in general. Implementation of the magnet school program appears to have a negative effect on per student expenditures as prior to the magnet school concept being implemented, the school district's per student expenditures average was 10% lower than the per student expenditures average for the state of Mississippi as a whole and after implementation, the school district's per student expenditures average was 10% higher than the per student expenditures average for the state. Overall, implementation of the magnet school program increased per student expenditures for CMSD in general, but did not have a positive impact on accountability status for the majority of the participant schools.