What the hell is this? Seriously, I thought I was reading another Onion story, but to my horror—it’s a legitimate news story from Erie, Pennsylvania. The Millcreek School District is arming its 500 teachers with small baseball bats, which will be locked up in each classroom. They’re to be used as a last resort in case there is a school shooting. I’m not kidding. They’re arming teachers with 16-inch baseball bats (via Erie News Now):
"It is the last resort,” said Millcreek School District Superintendent William Hall. “But, it is an option and something we want people to be aware of."
According to Hall, the 16-inch bats were distributed to each teacher, following an in-service training day on how to respond to school shootings.
"We passed them out, with the goal being we wanted every room to have one of these,” said Hall. “Unfortunately, we're in a day and age where one might need to use them to protect ourselves and our kids."
Hall says the bats are primarily "symbolic", but they are now an option for teachers to use, should they need to fight back in a school shooting.
Millcreek Education Association president Jon Cacchione says he supports the decision to arm teachers with bats, which will be locked up in each classroom.
Okay—let’s cut the nonsense here; this policy does nothing to enhance school safety. It’s window dressing. It’s a mockery. It’s total nonsense. You know what would make schools safer—arming teachers or having armed guards—police included—on campus. What are you nuts, Millcreek School District?
In Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, a school district superintendent said that classrooms would have piles of rocks in them to protects against school shooters.
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