We saw that for the first time last week with the new Wake County school board when board member Debra Goldman backed off of a campaign promise citing concerns about guaranteeing something the county school system couldn't provide.

At issue was a resolution adopted 5-4 earlier this month that would have eliminated mandatory year-round school assignments beginning next year.

After the school board realized it needed to vote on the measure twice, Goldman instead backed an alternative resolution that calls for - but doesn't require - the elimination of mandatory year-round assignments next year.

Goldman's vote gave the four-member minority a rare win last week and proved the idiom about governing from the middle.

Goldman may very well believe dismantling the mandatory year-round process is a good idea. But that isn't an easy thing to do. Opponents of such moves have said from the start that there wouldn't be enough seats in the school system if the year-round program was gutted. Goldman's vote lends credence to that theory and makes the prospect of a more cautious board more likely.

Caution is a trait the new board has lacked consistently since the new majority assumed power in December.

We take this as a good sign that at least one of the new board members wants to consider the side effects of the board's actions before taking a plunge headfirst into uncharted waters.