$60 million Plainfield, N.J., elementary school is under construction

The Plainfield (N.J.) school district is building a $60 million elementary school that will replace two existing campuses.

The Charles and Anna Booker School will replace Woodland Elementary School and Cook Elementary School and is being constructed on the site of the Woodland school.

The new building has been named in honor of longtime civil rights activists and community members Charles and Anna Booker, reports My Central Jersey. 

The Bookers were plaintiffs in the 1965 "Charles B. Booker v. The Board of Education of the City of Plainfield" lawsuit and fought to end the imbalance in education for Black students in the district. The suit ultimately changed how district students were placed in schools, how funding was allocated and how board members were chosen. 

The three-story facility of approximately 120,000 square feet will have space for up to 840 students in kindergarten to fifth grade. It will have 41 classrooms, an art room, a vocal/music room, an instrumental lesson room, a technology lab, a science demo room, a computer lab, a gymnasium, a cafeteria, a media center, a playground and a basketball court.

The school is scheduled to open in 2022.

DMR Architects is the architect and Epic Management Inc. is the contractor.