PALMETTO, Fla. — Two school guardians armed with semiautomatic rifles will be roaming the grounds of Manatee School of the Arts starting next week, according to school officials.

  • School guardians are each retired combat veterans
  • Each will be armed with handgun, semiautomatic rifle with 17-inch barrel
  • Manatee School of the Arts first in the state to take this approach
  • More Manatee County stories

The charter school, located in Palmetto, serves roughly 2,100 students. Each of the guardians are retired combat veterans and will be required to walk the school's campus with both a handgun and the semiautomatic rifle with a 17-inch barrel. 

The school's principal, Dr. Bill Jones, says both his board and team of administrators were on board with the decision. Jones feels that it is was only fair to arm his guards with the same style of weapon that they would likely encounter if an assailant walked on campus. 

"It is why we hire combat veterans who have been shot at," he said. "We want to know that this is not going to be the first time they encounter this, and they are not going to go soul-searching while our kids are being shot." 

 

 

Jones says the two guardians are not there to deal with behavior issues or bond with students, as a typical School Resource Officer would. These guardians have a sole job, which is to protect students. 

"Why would we ask them to do a job with less-than-effective tools?" he said. 

Manatee School for the Arts is the first in the state, and possibly the country, to take this approach to school security. 

"It's not a bad approach," said Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler. "There may be some other schools and other campuses where it's not a good approach. I really think its up to the individual school or district."  

Jones interviewed roughly 600 people for the position and said both guardians are highly qualified, completed extensive training, and passed a psychological evaluation.