Government and Whitney trustees are to have eleventh hour talks to end a crisis which threatened to close the school this week.

The new talks were announced to a packed meeting of parents and teachers last night who expressed frustration at the deadlock over fine print in a contract.

Whitney parent Nadine Browne-Evans, a former pupil and educator at the school, said: "Have you reached a solution? If not you are wasting all our time.

"I suggest you be quick about it because we will be here in September, dressed and ready for school."

She said the school was in a state of emergency and the meeting ended after she gave Government a deadline of one week to come back with a solution.

Mr. Horton expressed optimism that the problems could be resolved, with meetings set for Monday at the latest although there were indications last night that talks would take place over the weekend.

The row over the shutdown of Whitney Institute intensified earlier yesterday as the school's trustees hit back at allegations they refused to commit to the public school system.

Education Minister Randolph Horton had threatened to withdraw the school's registration, claiming Whitney Educational Trust had refused to sign up to the school system for five years in exchange for Government cash for repairs.

Yesterday, board chairman Tom Davis described Mr. Horton's claim as a "galling inaccuracy".

"Quite the opposite is true," said Mr. Davis. "We have consistently expressed our desire to remain a part of the public education system."

It appears a condition requested by the trustees as part of this commitment is the major reason why talks broke down between the two sides.

Before putting pen to paper, the board had requested the Ministry enter into a binding agreement regarding renovations to the ageing school buildings, with consequences if it did not live up to its terms.

Education Minister Randolph Horton argued such a move would be inconsistent with legal responsibilities imposed upon on both the trustees and the Ministry.

The trustees say their attempts to get funding for the aided school — run by the trustees but supported financially by Government — have fallen on deaf ears in recent years.

The plant is now said to be plagued with rats, termites, bad plumbing and slippery floors, while there is no disabled access, the fire alarm is faulty and a light fixture recently fell from the ceiling.

Mr. Davis said in an e-mail to The Royal Gazette: "We spent several thousands of dollars and countless man hours coming up with a first draft of an agreement that we thought was fair.

"We did the heavy lifting. All the Ministry had to do was to review that agreement and let us know which clauses they would like to have amended and any additional clauses they would like to have included.

"Indeed the initial term of the agreement was to be for three years. This is one of the clauses they could have requested to be changed, i.e. from three to five years.

"That way the trustees would have been legally bound to remain a part of the public school system for at least five years.

"One can only speculate that the Ministry did not make this request because it would mean that they would need to consider the other clauses in the agreement, specifically those relating to consequences if the Ministry did not live up to the terms and conditions contained in the agreement."

Mr. Horton responded: "The Whitney board of trustees have never committed in writing to remaining part of the public education system and any verbal commitments made by the board of trustees have been subject to several conditions.

"These conditions are inconsistent with the legal responsibilities imposed upon the trustees in the Whitney Educational Trust Act 1974 and the Ministry as set out in the Education Act 1996."

The board says the Ministry had indicated a review of its suggested agreement could take many weeks or even months, meaning the decision to close the school was taken out of its hands.

"To hide behind the excuse that it would take weeks if not months to review the agreement is very disingenuous," said Mr. Davis.

"If a volunteer group with very limited resources can prepare a first draft of an agreement, why can't a Government with seemingly unlimited resources find the time and funds to review that agreement, or supply an alternative agreement for our review?"

Mr. Horton replied that the Ministry had offered to provide emergency funding of $3 million so that the most desperately needed work could be done while negotiations were ongoing.

He added that the Ministry has "responded positively" to every request for a grant since 2005.

The board estimates renovations would have cost $35 million, although the Ministry puts the figure at $20 million.

There are no specific beneficiaries of the trust. If the trustees sell the land and buildings, they would be obliged to use the cash for educational purposes, such as scholarships.

Bermuda Gymnastics Association is thought to be making alternative arrangements for its annual summer camp, which will not be held in the gymnasium this year.