The area's regional school districts are smarting from state budget cuts that weren't supposed to touch local aid - but have slashed almost $1 million from their transportation budgets.

When Gov. Deval Patrick announced $600 million in budget reductions last week, he said pointedly that aid to cities and towns would be spared.

However, the cuts included $18 million in transportation assistance to the state's 40 regional school districts. Area districts are expected to lose from $100,000 to $450,000 apiece at a time when schools are already struggling with budget restrictions.

SE Vocational Technical

"Right now, we've got a lot of questions - but not a lot of answers," said Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical School Superintendent Luis Lopes. He said the district will get $329,000 this year, instead of the $775,000 that had been budgeted. And, that's on top of a $300,000 reduction due to earlier state cuts.

Lopes said that under the current budget, his district, which serves Mansfield, Norton and Foxboro and six other communities, will run out of money to bus students to school in February.

Other regional districts are also big losers of state funds.

King Philip

King Philip Regional High School is out about $129,000, Superintendent Richard Robbat said; and Tri County Regional Vocational High School will lose almost $200,000.

Dighton-Rehoboth

Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District Superintendent Kathleen Montagano said she hasn't received her school's figures yet, but expects a significant cut from the $531,000 the district was to receive.

School districts say the mid-year cuts will be especially difficult because state law prohibits them from charging for transportation and they are already committed to contracts with bus companies.

State Rep. Elizabeth Poirier, R-North Attleboro, said the governor should not have advertised the $600 million in cuts as having little or no impact on state aid.

"To say you're not going to affect state aid, and then do this?" Poirier said. "It's frustrating." Education officials say they understand the state's need to save money during a recession that has cut deeply into revenue.

However, they say the mid-year cuts leave regional districts with big problems and few options.

"We're in a hole pretty deep right now," Tri-County Business Manager Steve Dockeray said.

Some school officials said districts might have to consolidate classes or teach some students at home if there is no relief.

"You can't say that you're not cutting educational programs because transportation is an educational program," said Tom Scott of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.

Schools have no way to cut back transportation proportionally, he said, and will have to find other ways of paying for busing.

Glenn Kootcher with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees said reductions in the amount the state provides for transportation assistance also removes an incentive for school districts to regionalize.