ORWIGSBURG - The superintendent of a Schuylkill County school district defended Friday an idea to arm students with rocks to deter an armed intruder, saying it is part of a larger plan to address school safety.

Earlier this month, Blue Mountain School District Superintendent David Helsel spoke before a House Education Committee school safety hearing in Harrisburg about the district's overall safety plan. Part of the plan includes having a supply of rocks in classrooms so students do not go down without a fight.

"Each room is being equipped with a device that makes entry into the classroom extremely difficult, if not impossible. In addition, every classroom has been equipped with a 5-gallon bucket of river stone. If an armed intruder attempts to gain entry to any of our classrooms, they will face a classroom full of students armed with rocks, and they will be stoned," a transcript of the proceeding says.

The rocks were placed in the classroom s in the fall and parents and students were informed. Helsel said some students even helped to put the stones in the buckets.

Following Helsel's statement at the conference, his "last-ditch effort" gained traction on social media and became a target of derision. Helsel said he answered a lot of phone calls Friday about his comments, which were picked up by media around the country

"These comments are taken completely out of context," he said.

The "first response is to evacuate" if possible, he emphasized. The district's comprehensive plan, developed by law enforcement professionals in response to previous school shootings like Columbine and Virginia Tech, also addresses decision-making during an attack, evacuation procedures and barricading classrooms.

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