There have been lots of empty desks this past week at public schools in Burlington. Assistant Superintendent Clark Goltz says about ten percent of the student body’s been out sick.He says it’s been as high as 15-20 percent, but seems to be on the downhill slide now. Goltz filled in for at least one principal at a local school, and watched the flu bug make its way through Burlington schools all week.It was holding steady at about ten percent, though most was in grade schools, not junior or senior high schools. It’s time for the official medically recognized flu season to be getting into full swing, and we asked Goltz if anybody’s got a doctor’s diagnosis that this is the real thing.He says there’s no real confirmation, but they don’t feel good and every janitor will tell you they have the flu. Goltz isn’t making any predictions how many kids will be well and at their desks on Monday. They get out for Christmas on December 21, like a lot of Iowa schools, and come back January 2 so hopefully a cold snap will put an end to the outbreak.
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