Richmond Board of Education holds inaugural meeting, elects Rod Belleza as new chair

The Richmond Board of Education held its inaugural meeting on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Seven trustees, newly elected and re-elected on October 17, took their oaths in front of a full boardroom and then voted to elect a new chair and vice-chair to lead the board for the next term.

The same week, the school district published its annual pay transparency report, which shows women working for the district earn on average eight per cent less per hour than men.

The new chair and vice-chair

Rod Belleza and Ken Hamaguchi were both nominated for chair at the November 4 meeting. Belleza won the vote and became the new chair, succeeding Hamaguchi, who had served in that role for the previous two years, the Richmond News reported.

Rod Belleza ran with Advance Richmond in the October 17 election. Ken Hamaguchi ran with the Richmond Education Party.

For vice-chair, four trustees were nominated: Dean Billings, Heather Larson, Donna Sargent and Alice Wong. Dean Billings, who also ran with Advance Richmond, received the most votes among the four nominees.

The other appointments

The board also filled two positions as representatives to provincial bodies at the November 4 meeting.

Heather Larson, who ran with the Richmond Education Party, was acclaimed as the board's representative to the BC School Trustees Association. This body coordinates policy and advocacy for public school boards across the province.

Donna Sargent, who ran with no elector organization, was named representative to the BC Public School Employers' Association, which handles collective bargaining and labour relations for school districts in the province.

Alice Wong, who ran with Common Sense, will serve as alternate representative for both associations.

The meeting was held in the school district boardroom, which the Richmond News described as fully packed for the ceremony.

The pay transparency report

The same week as the inaugural meeting, the school district published its 2025/2026 Pay Transparency Report. It breaks down pay for school district staff by gender, as required under the provincial Pay Transparency Act, which the provincial government enacted in 2023. Employers with more than 50 employees must publish these reports annually.

The report shows women earn 92 cents for every dollar men earn in average hourly wages, an eight per cent difference. Women's median hourly wages are 14 per cent less than men's: 86 cents for every dollar men earn.

The overtime gap is wider. Women's mean overtime pay is 50 per cent less than men's, and women's median overtime pay is 46 per cent less. Nine per cent of men received overtime pay in the period, compared with eight per cent of women.

Women make up 19 per cent of employees in the highest-paid quartile and 17 per cent of the lowest-paid quartile.

The report was prepared by the school district using its own employee compensation data, district spokesperson David Sadler confirmed to the Richmond News.

For comparison, in 2023, women in BC earned on average 15 per cent less than men in hourly wages, according to the provincial government website. The Richmond School District's eight per cent average hourly gap is below that provincial figure.

The school district noted that one or more gender categories were excluded from some figures "due to insufficient numbers to meet disclosure requirements."

What the numbers show

The pay gap in a school district reflects two things: which jobs people hold and what each job pays. School districts employ teachers, education assistants, administrators, tradespeople and office workers. When more men work in higher-paid roles and more women in lower-paid ones, an overall gap appears even if each job pays the same regardless of gender. The report does not break down the gap by job type.

The school district's website states it aims to "promote trust and accountability within our community and uphold our commitment to equitable pay practices," according to the Richmond News.

What the board oversees

The Richmond Board of Education governs School District 38, which covers all public schools in Richmond. The district is the second-largest employer in the city. It runs elementary and secondary schools, and employs teachers, support workers, administrative staff and tradespeople.

The seven trustees are elected at large, meaning every Richmond voter chooses from the full slate rather than by area. The elected trustees for the 2026-2030 term are Rod Belleza, Dean Billings, Danny Chang, Ken Hamaguchi, Heather Larson, Donna Sargent and Alice Wong. They each took their oaths at the November 4 meeting before the leadership votes were held.

What comes next

The school board holds regular public meetings through its 2026-2030 term.

Residents who want to follow how their trustees vote and what commitments they made in the election can visit the promise tracker at /bc/richmond-2026/tracker. The tracker records each trustee's pledges and updates as decisions are made through the term.