School personnel throughout the United States are rapidly adopting Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). School administrators and staff members are implementing SWPBIS without the implementation of a needs assessment to measure preparedness and buy-in prior to a schoolwide initiative. The current research on SWPBIS lacks rigorous evidence for an established level of need and buy-in. The purpose of this study was to measure need and buy-in of a school climate by using a systematic approach within a mixed methods sequential explanatory design (MMSE). The MMSE design used determined the level of need and buy-in towards a SWPBIS model for a rural school district. The MMSE was used in a two phase process: phase one was a survey on school climate and phase two was a series of focus group interviews. This study provides evidence of a school districts high level of need within the current negative school climate and its reduced rate of buy-in. Implications for future research using an MMSE design prior to SWPBIS are discussed.