WINDSOR – A long debated plan to provide electronic educational tools to students of the Bertie County Public School system will take a giant step forward here Tuesday.

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue, joined by officials of the Bertie County School System and CenturyLink, will officially announce the ConnectBertie Project, designed to provide high speed Internet service to more than 1,400 student households in rural Bertie County.

That announcement will come during a press conference scheduled for 3 p.m. on Tuesday at Bertie Middle School.

Governor Perdue will make formal remarks about the project. She is on a tour of eastern North Carolina that includes scheduled stops in Williamston, Plymouth, Columbia, Gatesville, Ahoskie, Windsor and Edenton.

ConnectBertie is a partnership between Bertie County Schools and CenturyLink to bring the World Wide Web and all its resources into the homes of Bertie students. This project links both the public and private sectors to enhance the educational and technological needs of the 21st century student.

CenturyLink’s involvement in the project is to provide the high quality broadband and voice services over its advanced communications networks.