Powell County schools will be closed next week because of illnesses and fall break, according to the superintendent's office.

Fall break was scheduled for Oct. 8-9 but was extended to include the entire week because many students have been sick this week, secretary Julie Clark said Friday.

On Friday, the school had about 80 percent attendance, Clark said. She said many students have strep throat, stomach viruses or flu-like symptoms.

Letters regarding general health precautions and the school closings have been sent to parents.

Other schools and districts closed this week included schools in Barren, Christian, Letcher, Lincoln, Monroe, Todd and Whitley counties.

The state has a new Web listing of public school closings that have been closed. The site is at http://healthalerts.ky.gov/Pages/Flu-RelatedSchoolClosures.aspx