I look forward to the opinions expressed by John Balentine and the other columnists at The Forecaster. While I don’t necessarily agree with Balentine most of the time, I respect his intellectual honesty. Last week his “Boos and bravos” piece booed the Maine House and Senate for requiring children attending Maine public schools to be vaccinated for communicable diseases. He was intentionally misleading when he described it as “government getting involved with the inner workings and decisions of the family unit.”

If this bill becomes law, parents of immunocompromised children will be able to send their children to public schools. This bill preserves choice. Parents don’t have to immunize their children and parents of immunocompromised children will have the opportunity to attend public school.

Dan Kovarik
Portland