PALMER -- Assembly members, including the one who offered the idea, spiked a measure to mothball the borough's newest elementary school last week. But the concern that drove the measure, the need for good road access to the school and the millions of taxpayer dollars it will likely cost to get it, remains.

Assemblywoman Michelle Church suggested delaying the opening of South Palmer Elementary for a year or more. She said she sponsored it so the Assembly could discuss problems with road access, not because she really wanted the school mothballed.

"The thought of not opening the school when it's ready to go is just insane. But so is not having access to it that isn't going to cost millions of dollars that we don't have," she said.

The measure failed unanimously, but not before the Assembly heard a heartfelt defense of the school from Tom Lytle, a principal at Tanaina Elementary who was hired to preside over the new elementary school when it opens this fall.

"There are thousands of individuals, children and parents who have been impacted because (school teachers and staff) have already been hired," Lytle said, flanked by more than 20 parents and teachers supporting the school.

The resolution did what Church said she intended: to allow the Assembly a chance to discuss the road problems and lobby school supporters to contact state legislators and ask for funding to pay for road upgrades.

Problems at South Palmer date back a few years. In 2007 the Assembly approved the school site in the Ranch subdivision south of Trunk Road over property closer to Palmer.

Several residents complained during the site selection process that the location lacked good road access. But only after the site was picked were Assembly members told that it would cost several million dollars to upgrade roads leading to the school and that the borough would be on the hook for that cost.

The problem at that school is not one of no access but no good access.

The current route leading to the school uses a neighborhood road, Abby Boulevard, that is narrow and already handles more traffic than it was designed to carry.

Another route using Nelson Road provides access, but the road is not paved and needs to be upgraded. It also doesn't work as a long-term solution because it provides access only on the eastern edge of the school and would require school traffic to take on a longer roundabout route to reach the school.

Borough officials want to build a road that serves the school but also solves the need in the area for better access between neighborhoods and main roads like Fairview Loop and Trunk Road.

But choosing which roads to upgrade has proven difficult. Many residents in the Fairview Loop area don't want new roads built across or next to their property. Some have formed a group and are working with large landowners in the area in an effort to find an alternative they feel fits their community.

Borough officials estimate building the upgrade will cost between $1 million and $28 million.

In the meantime, the plan for this fall is to use Nelson Road near the Parks Highway and Glenn Highway interchange. But even that will cost money. Borough Public Works Director Keith Rountree last week estimated it would cost $350,000 to pave Nelson Road to the school site. The borough plans to pave it this summer, he said.

Meanwhile construction on the $14 million school is rapidly progressing. Project manager Bob Bechtold said the project is 85-90 percent complete. Workers were painting the interior last week, he said, and several classrooms are already outfitted with cabinets and sliding white boards.

The clock is ticking toward opening day and it's too late to stop, Mat-Su School Superintendent George Troxel told the Assembly last week.

Lytle has been hired, as has a new principal to fill his spot at Tanaina Elementary. The deadline for teachers seeking jobs at the school closed last week.

Church's proposal also aimed at cutting taxes by saving operational funding for the school. But the Assembly lacks the power to tell the School District where to spend its money. Troxel said a cut would likely mean trimming the district's "enhanced budget," which includes special areas of focus, such as literacy programs and in-school behavioral programs.

Troxel said the new South Palmer school will relieve pressure on over-full schools this fall. Without it the district would need to add portable buildings to house students at Cottonwood Creek, Finger Lake and Pioneer Peak schools, district spokeswoman Catherine Esary said. Troxel said that would cost about $400,000.

Esary said the school is on track to open with 325 students.

Facilities Coordinator Don Carney told the Assembly that delaying the opening could cause a bigger problem -- reluctance on the part of state Department of Education officials to fund future schools. The state is paying 60 percent of the construction cost for South Palmer Elementary.

"The borough projects a need for at least nine more schools in the next 11 years. We can not send mixed messages to the state at this time because it will affect those future funding needs," he said.