Marlene Pollock is stepping down as a member of the New Bedford School Committee and will be leaving January 4.

Before her term ended she had a conversation with WBSM's Brian Thomas on Wednesday about her tenure.

During that interview New Bedford Educators Association President Lou St. John called in and criticized Pollock saying she never supported teachers.

"You disregarded every phone call from teachers, people just felt that you were just there to be a rubber stamp for whoever the superintendent was," said St. John "and I'm not even specifically referring to Dr. Pia Durkin, I'm talking about whoever the superintendent was, they could always count on you not to support teachers."

Pollock responded by saying that she's spoken with many teachers who support her and that she believes some people who oppose her felt threatened by her attempts to root out cronyism in the school department.

"It was rampant throughout the system," said Pollock "so if those folks who got their jobs through who they knew felt more pressured by higher standards and so forth, well then I don't know what to say."

Pollock's seat will be filled by School Committee Member-Elect Chris Cotter.

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