School Delays Opening Due to Bear in Tree

Teachers have heard all sorts of excuses before like the dog ate my homework or my little brother threw away my backpack but in this case the police were the ones telling teachers why kids wouldn’t be in class.

Phillipsburg High School in Warren County, N.J. opened 90 minutes late Friday morning after someone spotted a bear high up in a tree on the Hillcrest Boulevard campus.

Phillipsburg School District Officials told NBC10 that they received a tip around 5:45 a.m. that a black bear was up a tree above some school buildings in the area of Hillcrest and Route 22. A maintnence worker first spotted the animal in the area around midnight.

Phillipsburg Police said the bear spotting delayed the school opening as they tried to lure the bear from the tree. The district said the delay was "out of an abundance of caution."

It took about three and half hours for crews to tranquilize the bear and bring it down out of the tree. The bear was removed from the area as the school returned to its normal schedule.

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