WINDSOR – With North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue already in the region, Connect Bertie reached a standstill Monday afternoon.

During an emergency session, the Bertie County Board of Education released a statement that it had no contract with Century Link and that it would not continue with Connect Bertie at the current time.

Connect Bertie is designed to provide high speed Internet service to more than 1,400 student households in Bertie County and was a joint venture between the two entities.

The future of the project is now in doubt after the board released its statement.

“The Bertie County Board of Education does not have a contract with Century Link and therefore, the school system will not participate in Connect Bertie until further notice by the board of education,” Chairwoman Emma Johnson said on behalf of the board. “The board is directing the superintendent to communicate this to all parties involved.”

The decision by the board comes less than 24 hours before North Carolina Governor Perdue was to participate in an announcement with the school district and Century Link at Bertie Middle School. The fate of that event was unknown as of press time Monday.

Asked if the board would continue to explore avenues to resurrect Connect Bertie, Johnson referred to the statement, saying the board would not participate until further notice and that she had no additional information.

Governor Perdue is to visit Gates, Hertford and Bertie counties for leadership meetings during the day today (Tuesday).