OVERVIEW
 
Metro Boston has one of the best-educated work forces in the country and the world. But competitor “citistates” are aggressively seeking to increase their share of workers, research funds, industries, and the region’s competitive edge in educational attainment levels can no longer be taken for granted. Today, with mounting state deficits and budget cuts, public education  — the seed corn of Boston’s future prosperity — is at risk.
 
The economic boom of the 1990s in Boston and the region was fueled by