AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Education has scheduled meetings around the state to explain the school district consolidation law passed by the Legislature last week.

The state plans to hold 26 meetings by July 15. All meetings start at 7 p.m.

Local meetings are scheduled for Monday, Lake Region High School, Naples; June 19 at Deering High School, Portland; June 20 in the Biddeford Middle School auditorium; June 21 in Brunswick High School’s Crooker Theater; and July 9 in the Sanford Memorial Gymnasium.

The new law is supposed to shrink the number of school districts in Maine from 290 to about 80. State officials estimate it will save nearly $67 million in state and local expenses in the second year of the 2007-2009 budget cycle.