Last year, Maria Pereira stepped away from the Bridgeport Board of Education so she could pull the board’s strings from the shadows as the local chair of the Bridgeport Working Families Party.

Now, according to Linda Lambeck of the Connecticut Post, Pereira is stepping away from that role, too.

Why? Apparently the party is getting out of Gov. Dannel Malloy’s way as he heads to reelection. As Lambeck reports, ”Pereira cited the upcoming gubernatorial election as a reason for her break with the party,” according to a statement issued by the Working Families Party.

Whatever that means, this appears to be fantastic news for the people of Bridgeport. The inherent conflict of interest between Maria Pereira the union shill and Maria Pereira the former board member is a thing of the past.

No longer will a political party leader be whispering into the ears of board members and calling the shots from behind the scenes. No longer will board decisions be based on whatever Maria Pereira and her handlers want.

But let’s not count any chickens before they hatch.

Hindsight is 20/20. It’s obvious now what Pereira and the Working Families Party were up to when she resigned from the Bridgeport Board of Education. Is it paranoia to think that they may be up to something here, too? I don’t think so.

Remember, these are the people who tried to rig a Parent Advisory Council election.

These are the people who sued the city and then let the plaintiff run board meetings.

These are the people who have opposed more charter schools because they allegedly cost the city money — which they do not — and support magnet schools, which do take funding from city coffers.

In all likelihood, Pereira is just a bit too, um, shall we say, “extreme” for even the Working Families Party, which is saying something.

But it’s just possible Pereira will turn up again, like a bad penny, wreaking havoc on the lives of Bridgeport’s kids.

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