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One District Gives Teachers a New Weapon to Fight Shooters: Mini Baseball Bats

A Pennsylvania school district made headlines last month when it said it was arming teachers and students with buckets of rocks as a last resort to fight off shooters.

By Michael Boren

A Pennsylvania school district made headlines last month when it said it was arming teachers and students with buckets of rocks as a last resort to fight off shooters.

Now another district in the state has another wacky idea: Arm teachers with mini baseball bats.

The Millcreek Township School District, near Erie, gave 16-inch bats to 500 teachers, according to Erie News Now. District officials told the media outlet they spent $1,800 on the bats, saying they were mostly symbolic -- but could be used if needed. As Millcreek schools Superintendent William Hall put it: "It is the last resort. But it is an option and something we want people to be aware of."

That plan seems a little less crazy than the buckets of rocks at the Blue Mountain School District, about 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The superintendent there told state lawmakers, "If an armed intruder attempts to gain entrance to any of our classrooms, they will face a classroom full of students armed with rocks. And they will be stoned."

After receiving a lot of media attention and flak for that plan, the district announced it was adding more armed security to its schools.

In Wisconsin, meanwhile, a high school student created a device that slips beneath a door and is supposed to prevent the door from being opened. His school put the devices in its classrooms.

The attempts to protect students and teachers come after the Valentine's Day shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

Last month, thousands of people marched in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and other cities to demand stronger gun control and action from lawmakers. Students across the nation also walked out of schools on the one-month anniversary of the Parkland shooting.

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Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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