EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) – At the Hanover Junior-Senior High School, staff members are allowed to carry guns.

The small school is located in a rural area southeast of Fountain. Hanover School District Superintendent Kyle Cooper said arming staff is a necessity when your school is so remotely located.

“We are 30 minutes away from law enforcement response,” Cooper explained. “In a situation where the safety of our students is at risk, we feel that it’s important that we have an opportunity to defend our students.”

The Hanover school sits surrounded by miles of country roads and placed at the campus’s entrance is a warning sign. It reveals to anyone that reads it that the school’s staff may be armed.

There are nearly 300 students in the district. Exactly how many staff members teach while armed is not clear. They first started carrying guns in this district in 2016.

“The last thing we would want is for us to make the problem worse. So, our teachers need to be well trained. Defend a position. It’s not designed to be an attack position. It’s designed to protect students,” Cooper said.

Staff members that choose to carry a weapon while teaching on campus are required to participate in both annual and monthly training.

Not everyone believes allowing school staff to carry guys is a good thing.

Members of a research group called Everytown said that allowing guns on campuses is likely to lead to more shootings. The group also said that an increase in their presence is unlikely to prevent mass shootings on campus moving forward.

Officials with the Hanover district are glad none of their teachers have had to use their firearms.