Like a yo-yo, the balance of power on the Wake County Board of Education swings back and forth.. Now, the Democrat-backed candidates have a one-member majority on the school board, portending a much less radical change in direction on issues like student assignment.

Schizophrenic Wake County voters, who got what they asked for two years ago, seem to have moderated a bit once they realized exactly what it was they were getting.

Still, the ideological split among members of the board is narrow enough that one member can play a pivotal role in just about any decision.

That's what has happened over the past couple years as Debra Goldman wavered back and forth between her allegiance to the Republican-supported majority and her concerns over stability.

Now that Democrats have a majority, it will be interesting to see if their coalition holds together any better than the previous majority's did.

Regardless of the politics of it all, we believe the advice we've offered in this space in the past is as appropriate now as it was then: School board members should approach the issues they face cautiously and give themselves time to study those issues and gather public feedback.

And, if they are smart, the new majority members of the school board will remember what led to the massive changing of the guard in 2009, when voters said the board was not doing a good job of listening to their constituents.

In a place the size of Wake County, there will never be unanimity over any issue.

But school board members now, like their predecessors two years ago, should not rush to judgment. They should not look for political retribution.

They must learn to work with a superintendent who may not always have the same philosophical approach that they have .

And they should always ask themselves if the decisions they make will ultimately produce smarter graduates - and more of them.