A qualitative evaluation related to the creation of a Regional High School of Excellence (RHSE) in upstate New York is described. The focus is on a summer pilot study of the RHSE conducted while the continuation of the project was jeopardized by proposed budget cuts. The stages of development, problems involved in passing the proposal through the bureaucracy, and issues raised about designing an evaluation for clients who may not implement the evaluation are discussed. The evaluation described was requested/commissioned by the Albany-Schenectady Schoharie Bureau of Occupational and Educational Services located in Albany (New York). The RHSE, a pilot project for gifted and talented students in all academic subjects, is expected to open over the next 5 years. Evaluation design stages addressed conceptualization, rationale for choice of methods, training issues, monitoring the processes involved with clients, and post-implementation strategies for survival. The evaluation plan had a strong documentary focus involving interviews, documents, life histories, teacher journals, student journals, and surveys (including parent involvement surveys). Ethnographic techniques and the use of numerous methods were central to the evaluation design's organization. The evaluation design encompassed resource inputs, processes or activities, and outcomes as compared to objectives. A detailed outline of action components of the qualitative evaluation plan of the school before, during, and after the program was developed; and various evaluation strategies were pilot tested. The aforementioned budget cuts resulted in a postponement of the school project. The life history in teaching survey, teacher evaluation survey, and parents survey instruments are included. (TJH)