School district gets sheep to mow lawn

CARLISLE, Pa., June 14 (UPI) -- Officials in a Pennsylvania school district said they are saving up to $15,000 a year by outsourcing lawn mowing duties to a team of hungry sheep.

Carlisle Area School District officials said the sheep, owned by Wilson Middle School assistant principal Eric Sands, are replacing the workers who used to spend six hours per week mowing and trimming the grass around the solar panels at Wilson, The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa., reported Tuesday.

"Right now, we're testing how many sheep the solar area can maintain. ... It looks like the grass is still growing, so I'm going to have to bring in more," Sands said.

Sands said the only payment he requires from the district is to keep the sheep supplied with fresh water. He said the sheep can only graze in fenced-in areas, such as the solar panel area.