Pennsylvania school district: Intruders 'will be stoned' by students armed with rocks

Joel Shannon | York (Pa.) Daily Record

Show Caption Hide Caption Could throwing rocks stop a school shooter? A local school superintendent in Pa. has testified to state lawmakers that students in his district have rocks in their classroom that could be used as a last resort against a school shooter. (March 23)

YORK, Pa. — Should schools arm teachers against school shooters?

It's a question that lawmakers are debating across the nation. But one Pennsylvania district has another solution, which it says serves as a last resort in the case of an armed intruder:

How about arming students with rocks?

David Helsel, superintendent of the Blue Mountain School District in rural Schuylkill County, testified earlier this month before the state House Education committee, saying arming students with rocks is a part of the district's strategy to protect them against the threat of violence.

“We always strive to find new ways to keep our students safe,” Helsel told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, adding that the rocks are one small part of the district’s overall security plan.

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Staff and students in the Blue Mountain district have been trained in a program called “ALICE,” which stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate. As part of the program, he said, every classroom has a 5-gallon bucket of rocks that students could use to "stone" a school shooter, if need be.

The district has about 2,700 students at three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.

During his House testimony on March 15, Helsel was asked if slingshots are allowed to help the students pummel the intruder.

"No,” he said. “We have some people who have some pretty good arms. They can chuck a rock pretty fast."

He went on to say the process of equipping the rooms with rocks was "pretty easy" and involved a dump truck and a landscaper.

In the end, he said, the rocks are "nice, they're smooth, and you can really hurtle them pretty quickly, and hard."

Republican Rep. Harold English is on board with the plan.

"I commend your practical thinking," he said.

On the larger issue of arming teachers, Helsel said his district would not arm teachers, although some maintenance staff serve a duel role, including being armed security.