It's hard to come up with any other plausible explanation for outcome of Tuesday's school board race other than to say that voters were punishing what they saw as bad behavior.

Two years ago, voters who were frustrated by a lack of attentiveness from school board members, made their frustrations known at the ballot box. They effected a change, but we don't think they got exactly what they bargained for.

Voters expect a certain amount of decorum from their elected leaders and the new Republican majority set out from its first meeting to ram through its major priorities without giving an equal and fair opportunity for everyone to participate in the process.

A school board is a political animal and so it's no real surprise that some changes were bound to take place. But the Republican majority never sought to build consensus within the community, taking their 5-4 majority on the board as consensus enough.

Voters explained very clearly on Tuesday that such behavior needs to be checked at the door when it's time to govern.