AUGUSTA – School administrative districts in Maine face a Saturday deadline to submit consolidation plans to the state Education Department, which is gearing up for a barrage of faxes, e-mails, ground deliveries and even mailed-in copies.

The organizational plans are due as part of the Baldacci administration’s plan to trim Maine’s 290 school administrative units to no more than 80 as a way to streamline administration and avoid tens of millions of dollars in unnecessary costs.

The law that passed earlier this year envisions most districts having 2,500 or more students, with some exceptions.

Education Department spokesman David Connerty-Marin says state officials expect to receive roughly 80 plans by today’s deadline, but it will take until early next week to catalog them all. The state already had about two dozen plans in hand earlier this week.

The next big date is Jan. 15, when cities and towns may vote on whether to approve mergers.