The teachers in Pennsylvania District equipped with baseball bats as the last hope to fight against shooters. This campaign was led by William Hall, the superintendent of the Millcreek Township School who said in an interview that we will not hold back and we will not face them (shooters) as a sitting duck.
Hall also added that hiding, turning lights off and running are not the only options in such scenarios. The baseball bats are symbolic in nature and can be used as a weapon in facing shooters. Mr.Hall also added that he bought 600 baseball bats and each cost $3.
The baseball idea of William Hall was backed by the president of the Millcreek teachers’ union – Jon Cacchione who said that using a baseball bat is better than doing nothing in such scenarios. Cacchione further added when asked about will these bats favor the teachers, but it is a welcome change along with other changes occurring in the district.
The idea of using baseball bats by The Millcreek school was discussed heavily on social media as people gave mixed emotions from being ridiculous to incredulous. A user on the Facebook asked, “Is this an April fool trick?” A woman suggested that it is best to arm teachers and equipped them with guns.
A PTA board member, Bonnie Fagan who’s son was recently graduated from The Millcreek school was devastated by this decision and said that it is shameful to spend money on such activities.
However, against all the criticism, Mr. Hall defended his decision by referencing the incident of Parkland. According to him, everyone knows what happened in Parkland and after such incidents, everyone falls down and wait for such incidents to occur again. He says he’s alright with all the bumps if the people think it is silly.
This decision of Mr.Hall was backed neither by the Police nor by the Millcreek Emergency Department. An e-mail was received on Wednesday from the Millcreek Emergency Department, in which it was clearly mentioned that the both Millcreek Police Department and Millcreek Emergency Department are not involved in the baseball decisions.
According to Mr. Cacchione, all the teachers of Millcreek School District received the baseball bats on 2nd April.
What Was The Stimulant Behind This Activity?
After that Mr.Hall clarified the reason for the baseball activity by saying that it is a result of an online survey conducted by the Millcreek district after Parkland incident in which 17 people lost their lives. The survey contained only one question for the parents, whether or not there should be an armed presence in the school acting as a first defending weapon against the shooters.
Mr.Hall further cleared that these baseball bats will be kept inside the buildings and classrooms and will not be used wrongly but only in the cases like Parkland. He also said this is the part of long-running school security project which includes building a safety barrier between the school building and the parking, building police patrol at each building of the school, and making the school entries more secure.
The Parkland incident has changed the mindset of many school officials. A few days back, the superintendent of Blue Mountain School District David Helsel announced that every classroom is equipped with 5-gallon bucket of stones. Helsel further added that if an unknown or armed person will enter a classroom, he will face a class full of river stones.
In addition, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where the shooting incident took place a few months back announced that every student will need to wear clear backpacks in order to enter the school.
Reports coming from The Pattonville School District that the school administration is spending more than $4 billion on school security. Florida Legislature passed a bill of gun control which will allow school sheriffs to arm school personnel. But this bill was then rejected by the school board.
Jon Cacchione said in the latest interview that these baseball bats may not be useful in preventing active shooters but we will continue to work until we achieve the best.