In a small farming town, there aren’t any alternatives, other than home schooling.
And there are frequently church schools as alternatives. My son went to a local Catholic school and then to an Evangelical church school.
And when you have a potential suicidal kid and own a gun, why not lock up the gun? and why did the dad own a rifle? Most good old boys own deer rifles aka assault rifles, but usually elites don't hunt so why own that rifle?