Portland’s School Committee on Wednesday adopted a new policy that restricts military and college recruiters on campus.

While the new rule imposes equal opportunity limitations, its aim was to curtail the exposure of Portland students to military recruiters.

There’s no secret that the military is having trouble recruiting for some of its most important jobs. While the service branches have come close to or exceeded their overall numbers, they have a much more difficult time filling specific jobs related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And given the ongoing fighting, it’s no wonder that some parents – and the people they have elected to the Portland School Board – would take a dim view of the military as a career right now.

But the board’s new policy is trying to walk a delicate line. It wants to make it as easy as possible for students to avoid military recruiters without actually coming out and saying so.

There is a serious debate about the propriety of the war in Iraq, and any parent whose child is considering military service should be concerned about the potential danger. And recruiters have been accused of putting the best face on signing up, without complete disclosure of the details of enlistment.

Military service, however, remains an honorable choice for students. Service has always been fraught with danger, which is more apparent now than during times of more limited deployments.

For some students, compelled by reasons of their own, the military remains a good opportunity for public service.

Portland, and other municipalities considering similar restrictions, should tread carefully when its actions could drive a wedge between a community and the men and women serving in the military.