School reconstitution, the process of restaffing schools as a mechanism for school improvement, has become an increasingly popular component of education accountability systems across the country. This paper provides an analysis of the impact of one district-sponsored school reconstitution reform on the capacity of schools for improvement. We develop a broad-based conceptualization of school capacity that includes a range of resources thought fundamental to initiating meaningful school improvement. We then apply this framework, using two years of field data, to analyze a district-sponsored reconstitution policy affecting six schools. We focus on three of the six schools to explore the degree to which school reconstitution generates additional resources for change, reallocates existing resources, or depletes school capacity. We conclude with a discussion of school reconstitution and the assumptions that underlie its use as a reform strategy. (Contains 10 footnotes.)