Ontario is asking school boards across the province to submit funding requests for their most pressing repair projects.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce says the province will begin accepting funding applications for its 2019-2020 Capital Priorities program and is asking school boards to submit their top 10 capital projects for consideration.

The funding is to be used for projects such as building new schools or upgrading dated facilities.

Program rules state the work must be completed by 2023-2024.

The government says the funding can also be used to build school-based child care spaces.

Ontario’s schools had a $15.9 billion capital repair backlog in 2017, the last time the province released the data to the public.