Democratic candidate for governor Martha Coakley says her plan to eliminate a waiting list of 17,000 children seeking state vouchers for pre-kindergarten would cost an estimated $150 million annually.

But Republicans say that plan falls short of Coakley's pledge to provide universal access to pre-kindergarten for Massachusetts children.

They point to a study that says it would cost about $1.5 billion to cover the cost of expanding public schools to offer universal pre-kindergarten for the state's 105,000 three- and four-year-olds not currently in a subsidized pre-K program.

Coakley's campaign said Republican candidate Charlie Baker is ``intentionally misleading'' voters about the cost of her proposal, which targets just those children waiting for state assistance.

Coakley is defining universal pre-K as making it possible for every child to get into a program, either through vouchers or by paying privately.

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