New Superintendent And Principal At Summerville High School

Published May 8, 2026 3:12 pm

(Cntr) Brett Christopher, Summerville High School principal at a Blue Zones Project event with Gemi Battle BZP organization lead and Marie Schermeister, BZP events and office specialist

Tuolumne, CA—With the retirement of Summerville High School’s superintendent, Michael Merrill, the current principal has been promoted to superintendent, and a new principal has been hired.

“I am so proud to be able to announce the changes moving forward for Summerville UHSD,” stated Merrill as he updated Central Sierra Broadcasting on those changes.

Taking over the principal position is Karisa Scott of San Jose, where she was the founding principal of Milpitas Middle College High School and served as the dual-enrollment coordinator for the Milpitas Unified School District.

“She has visited campus several times to meet staff and students alike. She will fit in very well with our students, and we look forward to having her with our Bear Family,” shared Merrill.

As we reported here in February, when Merrill announced his retirement at the end of the school year and after 37 years in public education, with eight at Summerville, he recommended promoting current Principal Brett Christopher to the role. Merrill cited that he had the utmost confidence in Christopher’s ability to lead the district. Christopher has been the school’s principal for the past four years. Merrill added, “He has a great temperament and heart for our students. Brett has a vision for continued improvement and a desire to continue to build programs to best serve our students on and off campus.”

Christopher and Scott will take over on July 1st.