Superintendent William Hall showcases one of the bats.( Photo: Erie News Now)
You can’t make this stuff up.
Mere weeks after one Pennsylvania school district was soundly mocked for arming its teachers with buckets of stones, another district announced its plans to arm teachers with “miniature souvenir” baseball bats.
As part of its response plan to an active shooter situation, the Millcreek Township School District gave its teachers tiny wooden bats administrators say can be used to “create noise, distract, or defend against an active shooter.”
Superintendent William Hall penned a letter yesterday defending the decision. He explained that in the wake of recent school shootings, the district has given teachers an “attack option,” which is only to be used as a last resort.
“In an active shooter situation, [the tiny wooden bats] could be used as a tool against an active shooter just like any other item in the immediate room,” he said. “They will remain locked in the classroom and are only to be used/available in a hard lockdown situation.”
“It is not the primary deterrent,” he continued, “but rather it is something that may be used in an emergency situation, and symbolizes our intent to take an active approach to defending our students and staff under threat.”
The first 500 teachers to arrive at school received a free wooden bat, and everyone else was given a voucher for free nachos or a Mr. Hall bobblehead (sarcasm).
That may not be strictly true, but NBC News did report that the district handed out 500 tiny bats in an effort to get one in every classroom. It cost taxpayers about $1800.
SEE ALSO: School District Tries Real Security After Saying Students Should ‘Stone’ Intruders w/ Rocks
Parents weren’t thrilled with the decision.
“It’s not going to make some shooter stop and say, ‘Hey, I probably shouldn’t go in and do this,’” Jo Ellen Barish, a Parent Teacher Association told NBC.
“The people who do these things aren’t planning on getting away alive. It’s not like they have a fear of being hurt,” she added.
Pennsylvania PTA board member Bonnie Fagan said she felt “sad and disappointed” that teachers were being outfitted with bats.
“Am I going to get out my bat that’s in a locked cabinet or my bucket of rocks or slide something under the door to lock it to stop someone?” Fagan asked. “How effective is any of this?”
Not very, which is why the Pennsylvania state legislature is currently considering a bill that would allow school districts to permit their teachers to carry concealed firearms.
The Senate passed the legislation last June, but it’s been held up in the House Education committee since that time. The bill also faces stiff opposition from Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, who has said he does not support it, and from the teacher’s unions.
I have taught at all levels for years. I have also counseled parents, students, teachers, police……..veterans..
This is way too serious to be a joke…..unfortunately. The Super is out of touch and should be out of a job!
Dr Jack Grenan Proud Veteran Teacher
It’s not suprising just take a good look at the picture of the principal. Note the angle of his head It looks like he just pulled it out of his a&& where he keeps it most of the time
OMG, what do you mean this is not a joke? dam right this is a joke, please tell me this is a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are they all nuts? Before they could even get close to a shooter with that baby sized bat, they’d be dead. Good grief but the people running these schools haven’t a brain in their heads. Get your children out of these govt. run killing fields. Anything that has a sign on it that says “Gun Free Zone,” means you’re risking your life because 98% of all shootings happen in these “Gun Free Zones.”
Hopefully the bats are corked. (Baseball joke) 😑
…….America!!,…….That is how much this SOB Lefty Liberal Bastards care about your Children, and how the care about the teachers!!,…..Teachers Union is corrupt to the core!!,……
If you want to do nothing, this is as close as you can get. Can anyone spell MORONS?
BATTER UP!
HEY BATTER BATTER BATTER, SWING!
I’M FEELING A LITTLE BATTY TODAY BOB!
HEY SLUGGER
THIS BAT IDEA IS A NO HITTER
WE NEED BIGGER BATS
WHERE’S BATMAN WHEN YOU NEED HIM
LMFAO!!
In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, I had occasion to pick up my granddaughter (then in 5th grade). Seeing her in the hall, I went to get her, foregoing the usual formality/security measure of signing in at the office and getting a visitor tag. Before I could tap my granddaughter on the shoulder, I was surprised by a teacher right behind me, grabbing my sleeve and asking my business and where my pass was. Kudos to that alert and pro-active teacher! BUT, it got me thinking – had I had a gun, she would have been in position to actually stop me IF she had had any reasonable weapon with which to do so (she was a small woman of petite frame, so without some weapon, it was highly unlikely that she could have stopped me from doing harm but, with a weapon, I\’d have never seen her coming). And it occurred to me that a \”Stun Gun\” might be perfect for that – less objectionable (to the sensitive types) and lethal than a gun, unable to be taken and used to inflict multiple casualties as a gun might be, instantly effective and unlikely to cause panic unlike \”Pepper Spray\” (imagine the effect of releasing a burst or two of burning mist into a group of already frightened kids), it seemed a perfect solution. Not \”deadly force\” but potentially effective force – \”point defense\” as it were (certainly more effective than a rock or a tiny bat). SO, I wrote to the School Board, laying out my proposal, with the pro\’s and cons, and technical details (incl. training and practice programs, etc.) and then offered to personally purchase (NO cost to the School District) stun guns for all the teachers at that particular elementary school who were willing to carry one and to also help set up a suitable trial deployment at that School, as a potential model for expanding (and refining) the program (right down to volunteering my own and my firm\’s legal services in drafting up suitable waivers and indemnity agreements, pro bono – note, in my career, I had represented, among others, that very School District as well as probably 20% of the Districts in the State, so it wasn\’t like I was an \”unknown quantity\” or freelance nut).Out of ALL the School Board Members, I received a response from ONLY ONE. One. She thought my proposal had merit and promised to introduce it at the next Board meeting and get back to me. I never heard another word. The School still has no \”back-up plan\” if the necessity of signing in at the office is not an effective deterrent to an armed attack.Now, maybe there were good reasons to decline the (no cost) offer. Maybe the matter was considered and rejected for quite reasonable cause. My understanding, however, was that it was briefly mentioned, at the end of the meeting, as a possible \”other matter\” for discussion and nobody was interested in talking about it and it went into the waste basket, without even a note to me saying \”No thanks\” (or even just \”No\”).AND WHAT DOES THAT TELL ME? It tells me that the people who are supposed to be protecting your children ARE NOT INTERESTED IN DOING SO. As long as there are crazy people out there (and there are plenty), schools will remain a tempting target – for the shock value of killing little kids, for the ease of access and the convenience of having so many helpless and hapless targets, for the sheer notoriety of it. And it doesn\’t need a gun. On the same day as Sandy Hook, over in China, a guy with a knife killed more pre-schoolers and kindergartners than died in Maryland that day. Between the Parkland, Florida shooting and the shooting at Great Mills School in Maryland, a group of 10 knife wielding malcontents attacked a public gathering, killing 30 people and wounding (many seriously) 130 others. After Columbine in the USA, a group of terrorists killed over 334 people (mostly children) with fire and explosives at the Beslan School in Russia. But the people who claim to care, whose duty it is to care, DON\’T CARE. They do nothing or they pass out buckets of rocks or tiny bats and then organize (quite illegally, I might note) school walk-outs to protest guns. Safety is NOT the issue. Disarmament is – and these dead kids for whom they ostensibly weep are merely political leverage. Talk about cynical.
The word school, as you use it, is not a proper noun. Perhaps you and every single other commenter on here should spend less time at the range and more time learning English.
Your comment is of no value to helping make the situation better. This grandfather loves his granddaughter and our children need to be protected. If you have a gun and are trained, or are a Veteran you have an advantage over a person who is attacked and does not have a gun. As a Veteran I would rather be that person. Dr Jack Grenan
Years ago, Israel had a school massacre carried out by muslim terrorist. Israel, unlike the US congress acted. Of course the Israelis were not pushing for disarming the people because they were afraid they would rebel against the changes the government are trying to force on a free nation. Instead they hardened the schools, and put trained armed guards in the schools. They live in a virtual war zone, yet were able to protect their children because they wanted to. The US congress could do the same if they were willing. Instead they are leaving our children vulnerable for political reasons, the anti gun issue. If the so called ,”Law Makers” won’t let the people protect protect their own children it is time to vote them out, and install legislators with enough guts and respect for our Constitution and children to act responsibly.
This is why you live in the show me State! Democracy has its advantages and disadvantages! Jack Grenan
In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, I had occasion to pick up my granddaughter (then in 5th grade). Seeing her in the hall, I went to get her, foregoing the usual formality/security measure of signing in at the office and getting a visitor tag. Before I could tap my granddaughter on the shoulder, I was surprised by a teacher right behind me, grabbing my sleeve and asking my business and where my pass was. Kudos to that alert and pro-active teacher! BUT, it got me thinking – had I had a gun, she would have been in position to actually stop me IF she had had any reasonable weapon with which to do so (she was a small woman of petite frame, so without some weapon, it was highly unlikely that she could have stopped me from doing harm but, with a weapon, I’d have never seen her coming). And it occurred to me that a “Stun Gun” might be perfect for that – less objectionable (to the sensitive types) and lethal than a gun, unable to be taken and used to inflict multiple casualties as a gun might be, instantly effective and unlikely to cause panic unlike “Pepper Spray” (imagine the effect of releasing a burst or two of burning mist into a group of already frightened kids), it seemed a perfect solution. Not “deadly force” but potentially effective force – “point defense” as it were (certainly more effective than a rock or a tiny bat). SO, I wrote to the School Board, laying out my proposal, with the pro’s and cons, and technical details (incl. training and practice programs, etc.) and then offered to personally purchase (NO cost to the School District) stun guns for all the teachers at that particular elementary school who were willing to carry one and to also help set up a suitable trial deployment at that School, as a potential model for expanding (and refining) the program (right down to volunteering my own and my firm’s legal services in drafting up suitable waivers and indemnity agreements, pro bono – note, in my career, I had represented, among others, that very School District as well as probably 20% of the Districts in the State, so it wasn’t like I was an “unknown quantity” or freelance nut).
Out of ALL the School Board Members, I received a response from ONLY ONE. One. She thought my proposal had merit and promised to introduce it at the next Board meeting and get back to me. I never heard another word. The School still has no “back-up plan” if the necessity of signing in at the office is not an effective deterrent to an armed attack.
Now, maybe there were good reasons to decline the (no cost) offer. Maybe the matter was considered and rejected for quite reasonable cause. My understanding, however, was that it was briefly mentioned, at the end of the meeting, as a possible “other matter” for discussion and nobody was interested in talking about it and it went into the waste basket, without even a note to me saying “No thanks” (or even just “No”).
AND WHAT DOES THAT TELL ME? It tells me that the people who are supposed to be protecting your children ARE NOT INTERESTED IN DOING SO. As long as there are crazy people out there (and there are plenty), schools will remain a tempting target – for the shock value of killing little kids, for the ease of access and the convenience of having so many helpless and hapless targets, for the sheer notoriety of it. And it doesn’t need a gun. On the same day as Sandy Hook, over in China, a guy with a knife killed more pre-schoolers and kindergartners than died in Maryland that day. Between the Parkland, Florida shooting and the shooting at Great Mills School in Maryland, a group of 10 knife wielding malcontents attacked a public gathering, killing 30 people and wounding (many seriously) 130 others. After Columbine in the USA, a group of terrorists killed over 334 people (mostly children) with fire and explosives at the Beslan School in Russia. But the people who claim to care, whose duty it is to care, DON’T CARE. They do nothing or they pass out buckets of rocks or tiny bats and then organize (quite illegally, I might note) school walk-outs to protest guns. Safety is NOT the issue. Disarmament is – and these dead kids for whom they ostensibly weep are merely political leverage. Talk about cynical.
Well I see we have just another day of complaining about the complainers. See below for my take on this whole mess that is mainly a right and left control issue, and they don’t much care about any of US.
OK here we are complaining about the complainers which is just the same old same old. Me, Gunner for 54 years, NRA brought me in at age 12, and I am still going strong. The NRA sure ain’t what it use to be. My take is simple, I have lived with gun regulations like They are trying to pass again, and they did not hurt me. I look at this this way, Guns don’t kill people, yet people with guns kill people……. My challenge, meet me in the hallway at school, bring your Fav Daily CC (I have had one for about 40 years, so u should have one), I will bring one of my AKs or maybe my SKS BullPup, either way I will have a 30 rd mag. Guess what no one will meet me, but maybe if we did limit the mag to 10 rounds they would show up. Yet we want our Teachers to use a small CC pistol against me and my 30 round mag. Now if you are able to see but still cannot see this, I feel Sorry For You. But, please get out of the way as we can protect our kids and ourselves, and at the same time protect The 2nd!
And these are the liberal idiots we have teaching our children!
See, this is why Crack is illegal!
How far out of touch with reality do you have to be to think something like this or, even worse, agree with it like the idiot at beginning of the video does.
Unbelievable. Everyone, from the top to the bottom that has anything to do with this should be fired on the spot, licenses revoked to EVER teach again and sterilized so they cannot procreate and harm the human species any further than their continual waste of oxygen.
This would be laughable if it weren’t so concerning as to a likely outcome. Lets bring a bat to a gun fight? WTF? AR15 vs. Bat … pretty obvious who wins.
Makes me feel good. This sounds like something many European countries would do, like England. It’s all about feelings, not facts. This is how leftists think and dictate to others to follow their example.
Well, since the bats are small, they should only be used to stop someone with a handgun. Full sized bats must be used in confronting someone with a longarm.
One day, teachers across the nation will have the right to defend their students, co-workers, administrators, and themselves from mass murderers. They will have the opportunity to earn a nationally-recognized certification by attending lengthy and rigorous concealed carry courses specifically designed to teach safe and effective methods used by law enforcement when operating in a close-quarters environments. However, just like in any other rights movements, it will not happen over night. Many leaders are not ready for teachers to have a weapon of any kind, let a lone a gun, in school. Steps, sometimes immeasurably small, will have to be taken to eventually get there. I applaud the school district in Pennsylvania for arming teachers with a tool intended for self defense. Is it an effective tool? No. But it is a step in the right direction.
How fast and how close can you get to someone with a gun that fires bullets of speeds traveling over 2000 feet per second
Like the old saying… YOU BROUGHT A KNIFE TO A GUN FIGHT?
Why do you make a common sense argument? What’s wrong with you. I’m now selling my Colts and Sigs and buying Louisville Sluggers.
LOL!!!
In fact, those “bats” are what many truckers use to check for flat or low tires!
So, we’re down to truncheon’s now for defense.
What next, rocks?
Obviously you missed it. There was an article recently that stated how this one school district was issuing 5-gallons buckets of river rocks for each classroom.
I believe Al was using sarcasm.
Yet another example of the total ignorance of civil servants. Make sure this guys security team is armed with the same bats he wants kids to use. How about beefing up campus security instead?
Superintendent William Hall penned a letter yesterday defending the decision. He explained that in the wake of recent school shootings, the district has given teachers an “attack option,” which is only to be used as a last resort.
“In an active shooter situation, [the tiny wooden bats] could be used as a tool against an active shooter just like any other item in the immediate room,” he said. “They will remain locked in the classroom and are only to be used/available in a hard lockdown situation.”
“It is not the primary deterrent,” he continued, “but rather it is something that may be used in an emergency situation, and symbolizes our intent to take an active approach to defending our students and staff under threat
What the f*ck??? This is so typical of academia. Those people can have all of the advanced degrees they desire but when it comes down to good old common sense it just isn’t there. What is the difference between a hard lock down situation and a soft lock down situation?? Wouldn’t you think that if there is an active shooter situation occurring in one of their schools you would want a better option against the shooter than a miniature baseball bat? I could see this clown trying to take disciplinary action against one of his teachers for improper use of a miniature bat during a school shooting event. Also, he probably hasn’t thought about the fact that after a shooting event the district will be sued because all you did was give us a miniature bat to use against an active shooter with multiple firearms. Again common sense does not exist in the minds of these overly educated morons of academia….
First, I had some very loving and very tough nuns. Even if armed, they would be wise to such woman. It is too sad to even joke about the bats. We need to find the spot where they have taken all the country’s common sense and redistribute it.
I\’ve heard \”dumb as a box of rocks\” but a bucket would totally be better. After angering an active shooter by chucking rocks, then you can put the bucket on your head and hide from them. Genius! Oh, and the tiny baseball bats are just not fair to the shooter. You could give them a splinter, then they can sue you. The full size whiffle ball bats would have been a superior choice…you ever get hit with one of them? friggin stings man!…..How about his…before doing ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING in your life….pretend you have to run it by your grand parents first for a reality check. The last generation in this country with any sense of pride was our grand parents. Could you imagine your grand dads face when you tell him you are going to put rocks and little bats in the kids class room for defense? He would have a drink, light a smoke, and proceed to smack the stupid out of you. Then grand mom would explain why that had to happen to you, and give you a cookie. We better get this generation back on track….because we are going to have to care for them FOREVER!!!!!!!!! G.
The only positive I can see from “bats” or “buckets of rocks” is that sends a message to the students to not cower in a corner and be a victim but to stand your ground and be a fighter. Sadly if your bringing anything other than a gun to a gun fight you’ve got the wrong tool but having students willing to stone or whack the hell out of a shooter going down fighting is better than having them duck and cover in fear like its 1950 again. At least give them a full sized louisville slugger though. The mini bats are laughable at best. Now if the bats were to be authorized to paddle bad children who needed it throughout the school day then I’m all for 1950 policy again. We need that type of mentality again.
This decision to distribute miniature baseball bats lends credence to the wise axiom that “you can’t fix stupid”. The teachers and staff would be more effective if you armed them with long range wasp spray. To use the bat you would have to within a couple of feet of the attacker, whereas with the spray you could be 10-15 feet. The obvious common sense measure would be to arm and train various members of the staff, and then post a conspicuous sign at each entrance announcing such. The idiots who always seem to be in charge (Superintendent William Hall, et al) prefer to post a sign proclaiming the school to be a “gun free zone”, which is analogous to sending an engraved invitation to attack us. We are in the throes of the “dumbing down” of our once-great nation.
There are 1.5 million active duty members in the US and about 90,000 elementary schools, so let say the same number for junior high and high schools, so 270,000 schools roughly guesstimated. When you get called upon for drill sergeant duty, that’s a year. When you get called for a deployment, that’s usually a year. So. Why not call upon soldiers to guard schools. One for small schools, two for larger. It’d be some of the easier assignments for soldiers and could even be helpful in transitioning some of them back to civilian life. And yeah, I’m talking living quarters and everything on campas. That’s where the soldier is assigned, that’s where they stay. Have an NCO drive from school to school randomly checking up and making sure everyone is squared away. All this, ON TOP OF offering teachers free classes on firearm safety and permits to carry. You are not going to get rid of the guns, period. There are how many hundreds of millions of guns in the country? No new laws or bans are going to get rid of them. So guess what option you’re left with. Overpower your enemy. Fight fire, with an overwhelming force of fire.
Just send in a Nun with a ruler and wack ‘em on the knuckles.
This is just nonsense. Reminds me of the axiom “never bring a knife to a gun fight.”
Welcome to the 21st century, where absurd thinking has become the norm.
Smart move by the school district. Now they can teach everybody how to use the bats to swing at the bullets and knock them back at the shooter. Never take a miniature bat and a bucket of rocks to a gun fight.
Buckets of rocks and mini bats? Are they planning for self-defense or planning for recess?
I’m waiting for the Mr. Garretson hand puppet