School District Arms Teachers With 16-Inch Baseball Bats In Case Of Shooting

Amid debates over school safety in the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting, one Pennsylvania school district has decided to arm teachers without giving them guns. The Millcreek School District in Erie decided to give out baseball bats to its faculty members, Erie News Now reported.

The district, which serves more than 7,000 students, gave out bats to teachers following a day of school shooting response training. The bats will live behind locks in classrooms and are a “last resort” for the district’s 500 teachers, Millcreek superintendent William Hall said.

“Unfortunately, we’re in a day and age where one might need to use them to protect ourselves and our kids,” Hall told Erie News Now.

The bats are significantly smaller than the kind one might see in the Major Leagues, as demonstrated in the “Fox & Friends” clip below.

According to an internet survey organized by the Millcreek School District, roughly 70 percent of respondents said they would be fine with teachers having guns in classrooms. However, Hall told Erie News Now that is not part of the plan at this juncture.

With a total cost of less than $2,000, the bat plan is likely less expensive and controversial than fully arming teachers. Some politicians have floated the idea of keeping firearms in classrooms after Nikolas Cruz killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, but the suggestion has not been warmly received by all.

In March, the Blue Mountain School District in Pennsylvania gave students and teachers buckets of rocks to use in the event of an armed intrusion. On Tuesday, the Louisiana Senate voted to allow students to wear bulletproof backpacks.

Despite vocal support from Parkland survivors, among others, gun safety legislation has not passed on the federal level.