Ricardo Soto named permanent schools chief in Center Moriches

Ricardo Soto, interim Center Moriches schools superintendent since his predecessor abruptly resigned last August, has been appointed to the position on a permanent basis.

Soto will fill the district’s top seat through July 30, 2029, unless his tenure is extended, according to the four-year contract approved by the Center Moriches Board of Education and posted on the district's website. His base salary for the 2025-26 academic year, effective July 1, will be $245,000.

Until previous Superintendent Ronald Masera stepped down unexpectedly, effective last Aug. 6, Soto had served as the district’s assistant superintendent for student services, personnel and instructional technology, Newsday reported at the time.

Masera, who was appointed superintendent in 2019, vacated his seat close to a year before his contracted departure date of June 30, according to a 12-page agreement he reached with the district last summer reported by Newsday. No reason was given for Masera's early exit, which included a district payout of $282,366, Newsday reported.

Securing the permanent position is "something that I've been working towards ... for the latter part of my career," Soto said Wednesday in a telephone. Since becoming the interim president, he said he is most proud of increasing communication and transparency with the community revamping the district's website and ensuring parent's are not flooded with repetitive notices home from multiple school buildings.

"Dr. Soto’s service as our interim superintendent of schools has showcased his leadership and communication skills and his unparalleled ability to build cooperative and collaborative relationships with parents, the larger Center Moriches community, and the faculty and staff of the District," board president Lauren Slionski said in a statement Tuesday announcing Soto's appointment.

"There is a new energy in our District," Slionski added, "a positive excitement for all that has been accomplished and a palpable confidence in all that will continue to be achieved under Dr. Soto’s stewardship."

Soto's career began as a secondary English teacher in Brooklyn for the New York City Public School System, he said. He kicked off his 21-year stint with Center Moriches as an assistant principle of the high school. His other titles have included elementary school principle and district director of special education. He has lived with his family in Center Moriches for the past 19 years.

In recent years, while he was an assistant superintendent, Soto served as the district’s DEI chair, overseeing an annual board-approved equity plan that included among other tasks a review of field trips and the appointment of DEI liaisons, Newsday previously reported.

Last year, he told Newsday: "We are engaged in [DEI] work to give our students every opportunity to understand the global environment that exists outside of their immediate homes."

When asked about the challenges currently facing the district, Soto pointed to aging infrastructure. District voters rejected bond proposals of $45 million in 2023 and $13.9 million in 2024, Newsday previously reported. Soto said he and the board of education are hoping to bolster its capital reserves and use some of those funds to "renovate our aging auditorium" at the building that includes middle and high school students. On May 20, he said residents can vote on the use of around $1.2 million in capital reserve funds for that project. 

"Our facilities are aging, they require a tremendous amount of repair," Soto said. "So we're trying to utilize our capital reserves ... to try to do some of the projects that we can do internally before we go back to our community with a possible capital bond vote."