Our schools and the cat in two hats printer friendly version e-mail a friend Phil Kirk likes to say he wears two hats. As head of the influential N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry, he is without question the state's most powerful lobbyist. But since November 1997, when he was tapped by former Gov. Jim Hunt, he has also served as chairman of the state Board of Education. Then he steps up to the mike again.
Friendly chuckles resound.
To Kirk, his little hat-swapping act is perfectly reasonable. No conflict at all. What is good for schools in this state should be good for business, too. In theory, at least, he is right. Business leaders, after all, have a stake in North Carolina schools producing the best-educated workers possible.