Francis Scott Key High students might still be drinking bottled water on Friday due to a lack of water pressure.

School officials realized there was a problem when students reported difficulties flushingtoilets Monday afternoon, said FSK principal George Phillips.

Further inspection found problems with a pump in one of the school wells.

"We believe the pump on our newest well has a hole in it," Phillips said. "We'll have to pull it out of the well and shut off the water over the weekend."

Pressure has been restored by using awell that was abandoned because the county Health Department said itwas too small to provide sanitary water for the school.

However, students are not allowed to drink or wash their hands with it, Phillips said. Bottled municipal water has been brought in for that purpose.

"There has been a concern among parents and I understand that," Phillips said. "I was trained as a microbiologist, so I know the dangers possible.

"We are working very closely with the Health Department."

School officials are expecting a water test of the old well by Thursday and hope to have the pump repaired by Sunday evening.

CABLE PROPOSAL OFFERED

DATELINE: MOUNT AIRY

MOUNT AIRY -- At its regular monthly meeting Monday night, the Town Council formally received a proposed franchise agreement from Frederick Cablevision Inc., whichwants to begin offering cable TV service to town residents in competition with Prestige Cable TV of Maryland Inc.

After receiving the proposal the council voted to submit the proposal to the town's five-member Cable Commission, which will study the document and later makerecommendations to the council.

The council has been exploring whether to ask Frederick Cablevision to operate in Mount Airy, which, along with much of the rest of the county, is currently served by Prestige.

Council members say growing displeasure with Prestige's prices and service prompted them to consider inviting Frederick Cablevision to town. The company serves parts of Frederick County, as well as Manchester in Carroll.

The council will keep the proposal under wraps until the cable commission begins its review, said Mayor Gerald R. Johnson Jr.

Johnson said the purpose of the document is to describe specifically the features of Frederick Cablevision's service, including rates and how many channels and other services will be offered.

Councilman David W. Pyatt suggested that a final proposal include a "shopper's guide" comparison of what the two companies offer and how much they charge.

Representatives of Prestige have asked the council that if another franchise is granted, Frederick Cablevision besubject to the same operating requirements.

So the council discussed getting a legal opinion on whether Frederick Cablevision's proposal would represent a "level playing field" for the two companies.

TOWN WILL FOLLOW COUNTY

DATELINE: MOUNT AIRY

MOUNT AIRY -- The Town Council Monday night voted to continue to rely on the county government for review and inspection of sediment-control operations in new developments.

The county recently revised its sediment control measure to reflect increased fees it charges to developers for review of sediment-control plans. The updated measure required the town to vote to continue to participate in the agreement.

"Since they (county administrators) already have to do all the signing off on plans, we figured we'd let them do it," said Johnson.

In other business:

* The mayor and council recognized a town employee who received a commendation from Gov. William Donald Schaefer.

Tom Robeson, supervisor of the town's sewage treatment plant, received a certificate for exemplary work in running the Mount Airy's plant.

* The mayor announced that two openings exist on the town's recycling committee. Any townresidents interested in serving on the committee can inquire at TownHall.

* The council set an April 9 workshop to begin work on a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

COUNTY TO BUYLAND

The county commissioners voted unanimously to buy less than an acre owned by Helen K. Milligan.

The property, which includes ahome, is just off Maryland Route 26 near Oklahoma Road and Ridge Road in South Carroll County. It may be needed for the realignment of the road and a service road, said Isaac Menasche of the county attorney's office.

The county will buy the eight-tenths of an acre for $292,500, which is the appraised value, Menasche said.

BRCOG FUTURE UNCERTAIN

A committee has recommended the County Commissioners continue membership in the Baltimore Regional Council of Governments, but the future of that organization may be uncertain in light of state budget cuts.

The commissioners attended a closed meeting of BRCOG yesterday over the council's future, but declined to discuss it. However,they said they agreed with the six-person committee they formed lastsummer to assess whether Carroll should continue its membership.

"When we first started, we were the country cousin," said Commissioner Julia W. Gouge of Carroll's affiliation with BRCOG. "We're still the country cousin, but we have a lot of urban attributes now. The benefits (of membership) are there more today than they were 25 years ago."

BRCOG, established in 1963 by the legislature, includes Carroll, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties, and Baltimorecity. Those jurisdictions pay 28.7 percent of the cost of running the organization, with the rest coming from the state, revenue from services and grants.

Carroll County's share of the BRCOG budget for 1991-1992 is $50,280. For its money, the county gets services such as statistics and technical support used in planning, economic development, purchasing, environmental services, emergency services, educationand other areas.

The six-person committee was made up of both public and private-business people: Joseph Getty of the Carroll County Historical Society; former Sykesville Councilwoman Maxine Wooleyhand; William Sraver of state government; Edward Fischer of C&P; Telephone; Wayne Barnes of Barnes-Bollinger Insurance Services Inc.; and StewartYoung of Security Development Corp.

The committee wrote in its report: "Carroll County should continue its membership in the (council)as long as the level of services is maintained and costs do not substantially increase. The benefits realized by Carroll County are substantially greater than the costs associated with membership."

However, the committee also wrote that if state subsidies disappear, so tocould the benefits of membership.

HAULERS REMAIN WARY

A meeting with trash haulers to get their views on a proposed county recycling program brought forth concern from the waste companies about a loss ofbusiness if the county chooses to have one company pick up all the recyclables.

The commissioners hope to decide on a final plan by mid-February, to be phased in starting in July. The two options proposed so far are:

* To have one company contract with the county to pick up recyclables and process them. Phoenix Recycling of Finksburg would bid for that, said owner Jackson Haden. The county would charge residents directly through a tax or fee.

* To have individual haulers pick up recyclables, but have the county contract with a firm to process what was picked up. Haden said he would still bid for such a contract. Charges to customers would then be up to the haulers.

JoeGover of S&B; Hauling Inc. in Finksburg, said he would prefer the county keep allowing haulers to pick up recyclables on their routes. He said he will not need to increase costs to customers.

But Haden said eventually haulers will have to charge for the service.