Jenna Vendil, the Portland Board of Education member who was charged with drunken driving last month, said she understands the seriousness of the allegations but promised to serve her constituents to the best of her ability until the case is resolved.

Vendil’s unexpected comments came Tuesday evening during a board meeting held to appoint an interim superintendent. Board members listened, but took no action, while Vendil read a prepared statement.

Vendil gave no indication that she will resign. She said it would be inappropriate for her to comment on the charges while the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case.

Vendil said she is prepared to give the city and her constituents a “one hundred percent” effort while the legal process plays itself out.

Vendil, 30, is completing her second three-year term on the board representing District 1 and has taken out papers to run for a third term in November. She has not turned in her nomination papers yet.

Vendil was elected to the board in 2009 and was selected as one of MaineToday Media’s 40 Under 40 – a list of emerging young leaders in the state.

She acknowledged while reading her statement that she was arrested June 27 on a charge of operating under the influence.

Scarborough police say Vendil was stopped by an officer who saw her driving erratically at 11:11 p.m. Police said Vendil, who was driving a 2013 Chevrolet Cruze, had just pulled out of the McDonald’s restaurant lot and was going north on Route 1 toward Interstate 295. Police said she failed a sobriety test.

Vendil, who was alone at the time, told police she was coming from a friend’s house. Police would not release the results of a breath test pending her court appearance July 29 in Cumberland County Unified Criminal Court.

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