When it comes to protecting students against armed intruders, Manatee School for the Arts is “not looking for a fair fight,” principal Bill Jones told The New York Times.

“We’re looking for an overwhelming advantage,” he said.

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The roughly 2,100 middle and high school students who attend the Palmetto school will soon be greeted by two former military combat veterans – both fully armed and protected by body armor.

The school also plans to raise the fencing around the campus by two feet and to install a guard shack at the entrance to heighten security. The intent, Jones said, is to send a message that school officials aren’t messing around with student safety.

The new guards will each carry a 9-millimeter Glock handgun, as well as a semiautomatic rifle with 17-inch barrel designed for close quarters combat. Most of the Manatee district’s schools already have school resource officers, but Jones said he preferred to keep experienced fighters at the ready. The first “guardian” came to campus with 15 years of infantry experience a couple months ago. A second is slated to start when his training concludes this month, Jones said.

“I don’t want this to be the first time they’ve had someone shooting at them,” the principal told the Times, adding that “most parents have been very accepting” of the new recruits.

Jones told WCTV officials at the charter school understand that relying on local police response to an attack could leave students vulnerable for several minutes. The roughly $50,000 annual salaries for the armed guards, he said, is worth the piece of mind knowing that students are protected at all times.

“We’ve had a couple of incidents and we just called and there here in there minutes,” he said. “Unfortunately, you look at Parkland and in three minutes how many people were killed. So you know, you can’t expect much more from the police, there’s only so much they can do and the rest of it is yo8ur responsibility.”

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The added security is inspired in part by legislation approved in the wake of a massacre at Parkland, Florida’s Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School a year ago that left 17 dead. A slow and confused police response, including several officers who refused to engage the shooter, are among a host of problems that contributed to the high death toll, according to analysis of the crime.

The new law requires Florida schools to staff at least one “safe school officer,” though school safety consultant Michael Dorn with Safe Havens International contends he’s unaware of any other schools in America where guards openly carry long guns.

Florida law requires school guardians to complete a minimum of 132 hours of firearm safety and proficiency training, which was provided to the veterans at the charter school by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Department, according to the Times.