Education Minister Randy Horton returned to the drawing board last night after parents of Whitney Institute students shouted down the latest plan for the school.

The meeting, which was held in the Outerbridge Hall on the middle school's campus, was called to announce that students set to enter M1 in six weeks would be distributed to other schools. This, Minister Horton said would ensure the safety of students while the school is rebuilt, piece-by-piece starting with the M1 wing.

Last night, however, after parents complained about this decision, Minister Horton agreed to return to Cabinet to discuss further options and would report back by Tuesday. In regards to the plan he presented last night, Minister Horton said: "It's important the M1 block is where it's the worst part of the school and it has been determined we really would not be able to get that into the condition necessary in time for September.

"This coming September the M2 and M3 students would be here at Whitney Institute school and they would be able to be housed in the buildings that would be ready for September and they would have access to all of the educational opportunities.

"The decision was they (M1) and the safety perspective for the students it would be better not to have the M1's here but to have the M1's go to other schools."

These students would never return to Whitney, though the school would begin accepting M1 students again starting with the 2009/2010 school year. Instead the 100 M1's set to enter this September and make-up four classes at Whitney would be sent to other middle schools as would the teachers.

With one year missing from the school, it would allow the school to be repaired with the "flexibility" that was necessary, according to Minister Horton, should anything go wrong.

Minister Horton said this was a decision that the principal Freddie Evans was fully aware and that he had agreed with it. The trustees, however, said they had wanted the school to use portables to house students while the school was repaired piece-by-piece.

The Whitney Institute saga came to a head in May when the public school announced it would be closing. Days later the Government said an agreement had been met and the school would remain open.

However, that deal fell through and after much back and forth between trustees and Government on June 29 a joint statement was finally issued saying the school would be saved.

Yesterday, claiming that many options had been considered and that they had looked into the possibility of portable classrooms on the campus, Minister Horton said it would take too long to get them on the Island.

At that point, a parent piped up that she had just received a call from the Workman's Social Club and they had two portables at the old Berkeley Institute School that could be used.

Over and over again, parents continued to demand that children already accepted at Whitney not be parcelled out to other schools around the Island.

One parent said they had already bought their children's Whitney uniform and another asked what she should do now that her daughter was already reading the Whitney summer list.

After the meeting yesterday, Deputy Principal Reeshemah Swan said the parents wanted to ensure their children would go to the school they were accepted into come what may.

She said: "After this I don't think there's really an excuse. At this late stage had they been told this in March or April that would have been one thing.

"To be told the middle of June or July is too last minute. I am very optimistic though, that we can reach a conclusion."

Minister Horton closed the meeting by agreeing to meet with his Cabinet colleagues and would return a decision by Tuesday at the latest.