A public metro school that would accept half of its students from city schools and half from suburban schools throughout Monroe County is moving forward, says project founder William Cala.

The former Fairport and Rochester schools superintendent says that he has more than 100 educators working on curriculum and grants. Cala and former County Executive Thomas Frey have met with the New York State Board of Regents and they are planning to meet with Governor David Paterson's top education advisor, Duffy Palmer, in February.

Funding for the school, even in this financial environment, isn't the biggest hurdle, Cala says.

"I think the hardest part is convincing the people in power to change what they've been doing for so long," he says. "The state has been locked into doing many of the same things that haven't worked, but expecting different results."

Cala envisions a school that receives its funding from Albany and not a school that pulls funding from the nearest district, like some charter schools. And he wants the school to be based on a college campus.

Breaking up the city's concentration of poverty, which is wreaking havoc on Rochester's economy, crime rate, and housing market is one of Cala's biggest goals for the metro school.

"If you look at the statistics, the number of black and Hispanic students who graduate from urban schools is terrible," he says. "If New York doesn't rank the very lowest, we're close to it."

Cala says that he expects the metro school to open within the next two years.