CORRECTION

A story in the Business section Tuesday about the new chief executive of N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry misspelled the first name of Ferrel Guillory, a UNC-Chapel Hill expert on politics.

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The arrival of S. Lewis "Lew" Ebert has some Tar Heel educators on edge.

On Monday, Ebert took the helm of North Carolina's most powerful business lobbying group, N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry. But for weeks, the state's educational community has been buzzing about his reputation as an aggressive anti-education, anti-tax and pro-business advocate.

That's how his critics portray him in Kansas, where he previously ran that state's chamber of commerce. During his three-and-a-half-year tenure, he helped it turbocharge the chamber's membership ranks, reverse its shaky finances and score a string of legislative successes.

But during his watch, critics said, the chamber -- which had long been a steadfast supporter of education -- opposed a tax increase aimed at boosting funding for public schools.

"I wish your education advocates the best of luck, because I know they're going to need it," said Kathy Cook, executive director of advocacy group Kansas Families United for Public Education.

Ebert insists that he isn't coming to N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry with any agenda. He said the political stances he took in Kansas were dictated by the chamber's members, and that's how it will work when he comes to North Carolina.

"Each state has a different kind of path," Ebert said. "I'm not going to kid you. The path we took here probably would not work in many states, including North Carolina."

Some wonder, however, if Ebert's hiring could be the harbinger of a shift towards a hard-line business agenda that would disrupt the extraordinary bond forged between N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry and educators.

"The question everyone has is: Where will NCCBI fall on [education] in the future?" said John Dornan, a member of the group and executive director of the Public School Forum of North Carolina, an educational think tank. "Is it going to be an organization where tax cuts are first, and it turns a blind eye on education?"

Ebert hopes to home in quickly on what the business group's members want. Next month, he will conduct"pit stops" across the state to find out the members' priorities and how the group can help.

Ebert said that N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry's membership has an educational faction that weighs in on policy -- something that didn't exist in Kansas. The group's 1,745 members include 147 universities, community colleges and public school systems. Eight of the group's 100-plus board members are educators, including Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina system.

Hiring Ebert doesn't signal a shift in education policy, said Graham Denton, chairman of N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry.

"Education is going to remain a key ingredient in our agenda because it promotes economic development," he said. "Having a good education system is just as important as having a good tax structure."

Some in this state are encouraged by Ebert's reputation.

"You should never equate support for education with support for a tax increase for education," said John Hood, president of the conservative John Locke Foundation. "They are two different things."

Hood said he would welcome N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry, whose mission is fostering a favorable business climate, taking a harder line on taxes.

"It is safe to say when you have a series of tax increases, either endorsed or at least not opposed by the state's business chamber, something has gone awry," he said.

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