Two East County schools — Braden River High and Bashaw Elementary — have new principals

Braden River High School and William H. Bashaw Elementary School will have a new leader next school year.

Carl Auckerman, the current principal at Palmetto High School, will take the helm of Braden River High School, replacing Sharon Scarbrough.

Auckerman has been the principal of Palmetto High since 2016 and has previously served as the principal at Louise R. Johnson K-8 School of International Studies from 2013 to 2016. 

Auckerman has been with the School District of Manatee County since 1998 and has also served as the principal at the former Central High School from 2010 to 2013. Between 2010 and 2013, he was the assistant principal of Southeast, Palmetto and Bayshore high schools.

After four years as the principal of Braden River High School, Sharon Scarbrough will become the principal at Manatee High School. 

Scarbrough has been with the School District of Manatee County since 1995 and has previously served as the principal at W.D. Sugg and Carlos E. Haile middle schools from 2009 to 2017. She was also the assistant principal of Haile Middle and Buffalo Creek Middle School from 2004 to 2009. 

Bashaw Elementary School will also be welcoming a new principal, James Dougherty, pending approval from the School Board of Manatee County. 

Dougherty has been the assistant principal at Palm View K-8 School since 2017 and has also served as a student support specialist at Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School from 2014 to 2017. He has been with the district since 2008.

Dougherty will be replacing Mario Mendoza, who has been the principal of Bashaw Elementary since 2019. 

Mendoza has been named the district's new Migrant Education Coordinator.

Mendoza has served as the principal at the former Wakeland Elementary School from 2012 to 2019 as well as assistant principal at Bayshore Elementary from 2011 to 2012.