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Ebert's predecessor, Phil Kirk, who abruptly departed in November, was head of the State Board of Education for six years. Kirk, a former teacher, and N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry were instrumental in persuading voters to approve billions of dollars in bonds for education.

But Kirk's departure came amid dissension about the group's direction, including complaints that he paid too little attention to small businesses. The group's membership base has not increased in recent years. Its traditional base of clout also had weakened with the decline of some manufacturing industries in the state.

Doubts about Kirk

Questions rose about the group's commitment to education before Ebert was recruited. Some were triggered by grumbling among members that Kirk devoted too much time to his education board duties.

Some members, such as Art Pope, president of Variety Wholesalers in Raleigh and a frequent contributor to conservative causes, objected when the group supported tax increases to ease a state budget crunch, rather than focusing on government spending cuts.

Pope withdrew his company's membership afterward.

Kirk, who in July became vice president of external affairs at Catawba College in Salisbury, said he has known Ebert for years and hopes his hiring doesn't signal any retreat on education.

"That is the No. 1 issue facing any state -- a quality work force," Kirk said.

Ferrell Guillory, a politics expert at UNC-Chapel Hill, said the group has been sending mixed messages for years.

"NCCBI regularly comes out for tax cuts, particularly for business. They regularly come out for better schools. And they don't reconcile the two."

The Public School Forum's Dornan said he is anxious to meet Ebert, and he is keeping an open mind.

"My fingers are crossed," he said. But he said he was disconcerted by a recent cover story about Ebert in N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry's magazine that he said portrayed Ebert as "a tax-cutting champion."

The positions Ebert took in Kansas were "member-driven," said Bill Thornton, chairman of the Kansas chamber. He and other board members say it's unfair to label Ebert as anti-education.

The approach the chamber has taken, Thornton said, is that if the state needs more funding for education, it should shift the money from elsewhere rather than raise taxes.

Tar Heel educators aren't the only ones anxious about Ebert.

Other groups fret about how he might throw his group's weight around on issues in which business has an interest, such as compensation for injured workers.

"We're hearing from some of the folks in Kansas that it was a difficult relationship that Mr. Ebert had with labor and lawyers and [educators]," said Dick Taylor, CEO of the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Ebert said that testy relations with groups whose interests conflict with business comes with the territory.

Although the Kansas chamber's political stances under Ebert were controversial in some quarters, they were popular with members.

The number of members willing to donate $3,000 to $100,000 a year soared from 16 to nearly 150, said spokesman Jim Gregory. The chamber more than doubled its annual budget.

Ebert also created the Kansas Chamber Federation, a group of local chambers whose members automatically become non-dues-paying members of the state chamber. That played a key role in boosting the chamber's membership from 1,200 to 10,000, which amplified its political clout.

The Kansas chamber boasts that 20 bills it backed became law under Ebert. They included the repeal of a property tax on new equipment and machinery, which the chamber estimates will save businesses $300 million in taxes over five years.

"Lew did a great job here," said Republican Kansas legislator Doug Mays, speaker of the House. "I think he succeeded in almost every goal that was set by the chamber."

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