The Meigs County School System will be closed for the remainder of the week because of a flu outbreak. The system experienced an absentee rate of 31% this morning. Thirty-five staff members are out as well. The downtime will allow the system clean all schools and buses thoroughly, as well as some recovery time for affected students and staff. The closure does include extracurricular activities at all the schools through the weekend. Other schools in the area are monitoring the absentee count each day and could make decisions about closing in the future if the flu gets worse. Other school systems including Roane County are monitoring their daily absentee rate. In Cumberland County, Director of Schools Janet Graham told 105.7 News this afternoon that as long as the schools are staffed, school will proceed. Graham said today there were 89.7 percent of students in schools (10.3 percent absentee rate). One school in the county appeared to have taken the brunt of the flu in Brown Elementary. Over 200 of their students were out yesterday but that number went down to 175 today. All other schools in Cumberland County with the exception of The Phoenix School, recorded 90 percent or greater attendance today. The Phoenix School with a total student population of 77 recorded 84 percent attendance today.