The Mattapoisett School Committee would like to make free, full-day kindergarten available to all children in town, but officials are going to have to crunch some numbers to find the $24,000 to pay for it.

Center School currently offers a free half-day program with 17 students enrolled. Sixty-six students take advantage of the full-day option, which costs $1,800 and is on a sliding scale depending on a family’s capacity to pay. The shift to a full-day program would mean increased funding from the state and require the program to be free for all students.

By adopting the program, the school would join 83 percent of the state’s kindergartners who already have access to a free full-day program.

“The state offers incentive to go to full-day kindergarten because there is such a leg up academically to do that,” said Dr. Elise Frangos, Assistant Superintendent and Director of Curriculum and Instruction.

Early access to English, math, and science can propel students forward, said Frangos. But even with costs offset by the state, the cost of the program would increase by $24,572.

“The big question is do you reduce later on – your costs in remediation, in intervention, and special education that can happen down the road,” she said.

An additional concern is that reimbursements from state funds would not be made until the following year. “The trick is that we would have to live through a year of not collecting the tuition and funding it ourselves,” said Terry Hamm, Director of Student Services.

Since the school committee already approved its 2014 budget, town officials would have to agree to an increase or cuts would need to be made in the existing budget.

“We should proceed cautiously,” said Superintendent Doug White. “If we are able to find the dollars and answer all the questions, I think it would be a benefit.”

If the program is approved, parents will still have the option of sending their children to kindergarten for a half-day, said Hamm. Kindergarten will remain optional.