Construction To Begin Friday On Tennent High Structure

WARMINSTER, PA — The installation of support structures to shore up architectural features at William Tennent High School is set to begin Friday, according to the school's superintendent.

Centennial School District Superintendent David Baugh said Thursday that the majority of the work that's been done so far at the school — which was closed temporarily over structural concerns — has been preparing the site and acquiring materials.

"Actual work goes fast when it starts, which is early tomorrow," Baugh said in an email to Patch on Thursday.

According to a Web page created by the district, the crew's main work will be installing support structures to strengthen existing haunches in the school's main north-south corridor. Haunches are extensions from a wall that other architectural features rest upon.

The high school in Warminster was closed over the weekend after employees discovered what the district called "structural issues." A team of engineers examined the school Monday and, after that, all but about 20% of the building was open for activities.

In a message to the school community, officials said that while "the need for remediation may not be imminent, in the abundance of care, we elected to provide reinforcement (now) to eliminate any possible risk, and we are actively working with the construction team to remediate the potential problem areas."

Centennial officials have said they expect Tennent High to be ready to go when teachers report on Aug. 27 and school starts on Sept. 3.