Outgoing Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez held nothing back Monday, speaking at a City Club of Chicago event, where he opened up about his opposition to taking out a loan to help cover a budget shortfall, which he said cost him his job.

"You show your work. Does the evidence show that we're going in the right direction? Absolutely," Martinez said. "And by the way, in spite of, not because of, in spite of not having people not having our backs. Can you imagine if we would have people watching our backs, the work we could've done?"

Martinez also criticized Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union, claiming they wanted to throw the school district into financial distress, then demand a bailout.       

Martinez has said he declined a request from the mayor to resign in September, after he refused Johnson's request to have CPS take out a $300 million high-interest loan to pay for the costs of a new proposed teachers' contract and pension costs previously covered by the city.

The school board voted to fire Martinez in December, but because he was fired without cause, he was allowed to stay until the end of the school year. His last day on the job is Wednesday.

He's set to become commissioner of elementary and secondary education in Massachusetts on July 1.

• Chicago Public Schools