When you hear “portable classrooms” what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

“People think they are weird with wood paneling like at grandpa’s house and that it smells like that too,” said Brian Hunt, the facilities director for Oak Harbor Public Schools.

Superintendent Lance Gibbon offered this: “I remember being in portables in high school,” he said. “They were dark and smelled and rundown. They felt like a second-rate environment.”

The new reality is quite different. Portables, you’ve come a long way, baby.

The school district purchased two double portables for Broadview and Olympic View elementary schools to create more classroom space this fall.

Older children will occupy the portables.

These aren’t second-rate classrooms by any stretch.

A peek inside reveals a state-of-the-art space that looks like any classroom — perhaps better than some of the older schools. The portables at Broadview are light, bright and cool even in the August heat.

They are wired for technology and more energy efficient than the brick-and-mortar school nearby, built in 1968. They are handicap accessible and hooked into the school systems so students can hear announcements and the fire bell.

The district is still fighting against portables’ bad reputation. The superintendent wished they had a different name. He suggests “quality learning spaces” makes more sense.

This classroom crunch came because state lawmakers approved all-day kindergarten for all children statewide. Before, parents had to pay extra if they wanted their kindergartners to attend class all day.

The change means Oak Harbor has to find five new kindergarten classrooms.

The only hiccup came when the delivery arrived at Broadview with portables painted the school colors of Olympic View. Hunt had that quickly fixed.

“Every teacher I’ve worked with who was not happy about being set up in a portable was happy within a month,” he said.

A double portable with two classrooms costs around $180,000 each and the cost of outfitting a single classroom with curriculum materials, desks and other supplies costs $30,000.