[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":376},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-list":3,"article-\u002Fnews\u002Frichmond-board-of-education-inaugural-meeting-november-2026":109,"article-people-\u002Fnews\u002Frichmond-board-of-education-inaugural-meeting-november-2026":322},[4,24,39,49,63,74,86,98],{"path":5,"title":6,"description":7,"date":8,"publishedAt":9,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":12,"image":21,"imageAlt":22,"imageCredit":21,"updated":21,"linkedinPostUrl":21,"pinned":23},"\u002Fnews\u002Frichmond-board-of-education-inaugural-meeting-november-2026","Richmond Board of Education holds inaugural meeting, elects Rod Belleza as new chair","Trustees took their oaths on November 4, elected new leadership, and face an eight per cent gender pay gap across school district staff revealed by a new provincial report.","2026-11-06","2026-11-06T07:41:00-07:00","voche.me editors","Long read",[13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20],"Richmond Board of Education","School District 38","rod-belleza","dean-billings","ken-hamaguchi","heather-larson","donna-sargent","alice-wong",null,"Illustration of an empty school board meeting room with name plaques on a long table",false,{"path":25,"title":26,"description":27,"date":8,"publishedAt":28,"author":10,"category":29,"tags":30,"image":36,"imageAlt":37,"imageCredit":38,"updated":21,"linkedinPostUrl":21,"pinned":23},"\u002Fnews\u002Frichmond-lulu-design-awards-november-2026","City of Richmond gives out 2026 Lulu Awards for urban design","Four projects received Lulu Awards at a City council meeting on October 26, including a trail over a historic ditch and a Brighouse riverside complex.","2026-11-06T07:44:00-07:00","Election news",[31,32,33,34,35],"City of Richmond","urban design","Richmond city council","Brighouse","Oval Precinct","\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Fbc-richmond-2026\u002Fai\u002Frichmond-lulu-design-awards-november-2026.webp","Illustration of a pathway bridge over an urban ditch surrounded by trees","Illustration made with AI for voche.me",{"path":40,"title":41,"description":42,"date":43,"publishedAt":44,"author":10,"category":29,"tags":45,"image":21,"imageAlt":48,"imageCredit":21,"updated":21,"linkedinPostUrl":21,"pinned":23},"\u002Fnews\u002Frichmond-schools-track-field-ribbons-2026-11-05","Richmond School District restores competitive track meets with placement ribbons for spring 2027","The Richmond School District will bring back placement ribbons and separate boys' and girls' events for elementary school track meets in spring 2027, after 87 per cent of students surveyed said they wanted ribbons restored.","2026-11-05","2026-11-05T07:29:00-07:00",[13,46,47],"Schools","Community","Illustration of colourful placement ribbons on a table in a school gym",{"path":50,"title":51,"description":52,"date":43,"publishedAt":53,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":54,"image":60,"imageAlt":61,"imageCredit":62,"updated":21,"linkedinPostUrl":21,"pinned":23},"\u002Fnews\u002Frob-howard-richmond-inauguration-priorities-november-2026","Rob Howard sworn in as Richmond's new mayor with plan for trade centre, spending review and housing","Mayor Rob Howard outlined his priorities for the 2026-2030 term at Richmond City Hall on November 2: a trade and exhibition centre, an independent spending review, housing for seniors, and a council vote on supervised injection sites.","2026-11-05T07:25:00-07:00",[55,56,57,58,59],"Mayor","Richmond City Council","Housing","Public safety","Taxes and spending","https:\u002F\u002Fimages-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002Frichmond-mayor-rob-howard-inauguration-nov-2-2026-f.jpg?format=auto","Mayor Rob Howard speaking at his inauguration at Richmond City Hall on November 2, 2026","City of Richmond \u002F Daily Hive",{"path":64,"title":65,"description":66,"date":43,"publishedAt":67,"author":10,"category":29,"tags":68,"image":71,"imageAlt":72,"imageCredit":73,"updated":21,"linkedinPostUrl":21,"pinned":23},"\u002Fnews\u002Ftourism-richmond-launchpad-program-november-2026","Tourism Richmond opens applications for mentorship program to build new local experiences","Tourism Richmond is accepting applications for its Pacific. Authentic. Experiences Launchpad program, which will give three selected participants eight months of mentorship and $5,000 to launch tourism experiences in the city. Applications close November 27.","2026-11-05T07:33:00-07:00",[69,70,47],"Tourism","Business","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.vmcdn.ca\u002Ff\u002Ffiles\u002Frichmondnews\u002Fimages\u002Ftourism\u002Fnancy_headshot.jpg","Tourism Richmond CEO Nancy Small","Richmond News",{"path":75,"title":76,"description":77,"date":78,"publishedAt":79,"author":10,"category":29,"tags":80,"image":84,"imageAlt":85,"imageCredit":38,"updated":21,"linkedinPostUrl":21,"pinned":23},"\u002Fnews\u002Fsenior-link-society-board-richmond-november-2026","Richmond society serving isolated seniors is looking for new board members","Senior Link Society, which has served lonely Richmond seniors for 26 years, is recruiting board members after its president announced they are leaving.","2026-11-01","2026-11-01T08:22:00-07:00",[81,82,83],"community","seniors","Richmond","\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Fbc-richmond-2026\u002Fai\u002Fsenior-link-society-board-richmond-november-2026.webp","Illustration of an empty community room with chairs around a table and a coffee urn",{"path":87,"title":88,"description":89,"date":90,"publishedAt":91,"author":10,"category":29,"tags":92,"image":21,"imageAlt":97,"imageCredit":21,"updated":21,"linkedinPostUrl":21,"pinned":23},"\u002Fnews\u002Frichmond-rcmp-online-marketplace-fraud-2026-10-31","Richmond RCMP warn of online marketplace fraud after $22,000 in reported losses","Fraudsters have handed buyers envelopes of worthless paper instead of payment in multiple incidents since November 2025. RCMP advise using the Exchange Zone at the No. 5 Road detachment.","2026-10-31","2026-10-31T08:26:00-07:00",[93,94,95,96,81],"Richmond RCMP","fraud","safety","online marketplace","Illustration of a police detachment exchange zone for safe online marketplace transactions",{"path":99,"title":100,"description":101,"date":90,"publishedAt":102,"author":10,"category":29,"tags":103,"image":107,"imageAlt":108,"imageCredit":62,"updated":21,"linkedinPostUrl":21,"pinned":23},"\u002Fnews\u002Fwatermania-expropriation-richmond-2026-10-31","Richmond moves to take ownership of Watermania through expropriation","The City filed an expropriation notice in July 2026 to acquire the aquatic centre at Riverport before its lease expires in March 2027.","2026-10-31T08:25:00-07:00",[31,104,105,106,81],"recreation","aquatic centre","expropriation","https:\u002F\u002Fimages-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F10\u002Fwatermania-aquatic-centre-richmond-f-1.jpg?format=auto","Watermania aquatic centre at the Riverport Sports and Entertainment Complex in Richmond, BC",{"id":110,"title":6,"aiMetadata":111,"author":10,"body":124,"candidates":263,"category":11,"date":8,"description":7,"extension":264,"faq":265,"image":21,"imageAlt":22,"imageCheckedAt":21,"imageCredit":21,"imageScene":290,"linkedin":291,"linkedinPostUrl":21,"meta":299,"metaDescription":21,"navigation":301,"path":5,"pinned":23,"primarySourceUrl":302,"publishedAt":9,"seo":303,"seoTitle":21,"sourceId":304,"sourceIsPaywalled":23,"sources":305,"stem":317,"storyType":318,"tags":319,"topicKey":320,"updated":21,"__hash__":321},"news\u002Fnews\u002Frichmond-board-of-education-inaugural-meeting-november-2026.md",{"summary":112,"keyTopics":113,"semanticKeywords":118},"The Richmond Board of Education held its inaugural meeting on November 4, 2026. Rod Belleza was elected chair, succeeding Ken Hamaguchi. Dean Billings was elected vice-chair. A new provincial pay transparency report shows women in the school district earn eight per cent less per hour than men.",[13,114,115,116,117,14],"school board inaugural meeting","Rod Belleza chair","pay transparency","gender pay gap",[119,120,121,122,123],"Richmond trustees","school board chair 2026","BC pay transparency","Richmond school district pay gap","board of education oaths",{"type":125,"value":126,"toc":253},"minimark",[127,131,134,139,142,155,163,167,170,177,184,191,194,198,201,204,207,210,213,216,219,223,226,229,233,236,239,243,246],[128,129,130],"p",{},"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.",[128,132,133],{},"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.",[135,136,138],"h2",{"id":137},"the-new-chair-and-vice-chair","The new chair and vice-chair",[128,140,141],{},"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.",[128,143,144,149,150,154],{},[145,146,148],"a",{"href":147},"\u002Fbc\u002Frichmond-2026\u002Fcandidates\u002Frod-belleza","Rod Belleza"," ran with Advance Richmond in the October 17 election. ",[145,151,153],{"href":152},"\u002Fbc\u002Frichmond-2026\u002Fcandidates\u002Fken-hamaguchi","Ken Hamaguchi"," ran with the Richmond Education Party.",[128,156,157,158,162],{},"For vice-chair, four trustees were nominated: Dean Billings, Heather Larson, Donna Sargent and Alice Wong. ",[145,159,161],{"href":160},"\u002Fbc\u002Frichmond-2026\u002Fcandidates\u002Fdean-billings","Dean Billings",", who also ran with Advance Richmond, received the most votes among the four nominees.",[135,164,166],{"id":165},"the-other-appointments","The other appointments",[128,168,169],{},"The board also filled two positions as representatives to provincial bodies at the November 4 meeting.",[128,171,172,176],{},[145,173,175],{"href":174},"\u002Fbc\u002Frichmond-2026\u002Fcandidates\u002Fheather-larson","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.",[128,178,179,183],{},[145,180,182],{"href":181},"\u002Fbc\u002Frichmond-2026\u002Fcandidates\u002Fdonna-sargent","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.",[128,185,186,190],{},[145,187,189],{"href":188},"\u002Fbc\u002Frichmond-2026\u002Fcandidates\u002Falice-wong","Alice Wong",", who ran with Common Sense, will serve as alternate representative for both associations.",[128,192,193],{},"The meeting was held in the school district boardroom, which the Richmond News described as fully packed for the ceremony.",[135,195,197],{"id":196},"the-pay-transparency-report","The pay transparency report",[128,199,200],{},"The same week as the inaugural meeting, the school district published its 2025\u002F2026 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.",[128,202,203],{},"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.",[128,205,206],{},"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.",[128,208,209],{},"Women make up 19 per cent of employees in the highest-paid quartile and 17 per cent of the lowest-paid quartile.",[128,211,212],{},"The report was prepared by the school district using its own employee compensation data, district spokesperson David Sadler confirmed to the Richmond News.",[128,214,215],{},"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.",[128,217,218],{},"The school district noted that one or more gender categories were excluded from some figures \"due to insufficient numbers to meet disclosure requirements.\"",[135,220,222],{"id":221},"what-the-numbers-show","What the numbers show",[128,224,225],{},"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.",[128,227,228],{},"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.",[135,230,232],{"id":231},"what-the-board-oversees","What the board oversees",[128,234,235],{},"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.",[128,237,238],{},"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.",[135,240,242],{"id":241},"what-comes-next","What comes next",[128,244,245],{},"The school board holds regular public meetings through its 2026-2030 term.",[128,247,248,249,252],{},"Residents who want to follow how their trustees vote and what commitments they made in the election can visit the promise tracker at ",[145,250,251],{"href":251},"\u002Fbc\u002Frichmond-2026\u002Ftracker",". The tracker records each trustee's pledges and updates as decisions are made through the term.",{"title":254,"searchDepth":255,"depth":255,"links":256},"",2,[257,258,259,260,261,262],{"id":137,"depth":255,"text":138},{"id":165,"depth":255,"text":166},{"id":196,"depth":255,"text":197},{"id":221,"depth":255,"text":222},{"id":231,"depth":255,"text":232},{"id":241,"depth":255,"text":242},[15,16,17,18,19,20],"md",[266,269,272,275,278,281,284,287],{"question":267,"answer":268},"Who is the new chair of the Richmond Board of Education?","Rod Belleza was elected chair at the inaugural meeting of the Richmond Board of Education on November 4, 2026. He succeeded Ken Hamaguchi, who had served as chair for the previous two years, according to the Richmond News.",{"question":270,"answer":271},"Who was elected vice-chair of the Richmond Board of Education?","Dean Billings was elected vice-chair at the November 4 inaugural meeting of the Richmond Board of Education. He received the most votes among four nominees: Billings, Heather Larson, Donna Sargent and Alice Wong, according to the Richmond News.",{"question":273,"answer":274},"Who are the other trustees elected to board roles?","Heather Larson was acclaimed as the BC School Trustees Association representative. Donna Sargent was named the representative to the BC Public School Employers' Association. Alice Wong will be the alternate representative for both associations, according to the Richmond News.",{"question":276,"answer":277},"What is the gender pay gap at the Richmond School District?","According to the school district's 2025\u002F2026 Pay Transparency Report, 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, meaning 86 cents for every dollar men earn.",{"question":279,"answer":280},"How does the Richmond school district's pay gap compare to the BC average?","BC's overall gender pay gap in 2023 was 15 per cent, meaning women earned 85 cents for every dollar men earned, according to the provincial government website. The Richmond School District's 8 per cent average hourly gap is lower than the provincial figure.",{"question":282,"answer":283},"What does the Pay Transparency Act require employers to do?","The Pay Transparency Act, enacted by the provincial government in 2023, requires employers with more than 50 employees to publish annual pay transparency reports that break down pay by gender. The Richmond School District published its 2025\u002F2026 report under this requirement.",{"question":285,"answer":286},"What is the overtime pay gap at the Richmond School District?","According to the school district's pay transparency report, 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, compared with eight per cent of women.",{"question":288,"answer":289},"Where can Richmond residents follow the work of their school trustees?","Residents can read the profiles and tracked promises of all seven school trustees on this site. Visit the promise tracker at \u002Fbc\u002Frichmond-2026\u002Ftracker to see each trustee's commitments from the campaign and how those commitments are being followed up after the vote. The tracker updates as decisions are made through the 2026-2030 term.","An empty school board meeting room with a long table and name plaques, chairs arranged in a horseshoe shape, without people.",{"short":292,"long":293,"hashtags":294},"Richmond's new school board held its inaugural meeting November 4. Rod Belleza was elected chair. A new pay report shows women at the school district earn 8% less per hour than men.","The Richmond Board of Education held its inaugural meeting on November 4, with seven newly elected and re-elected trustees taking their oaths. Rod Belleza was elected chair and Dean Billings vice-chair. The board also faces findings from a new pay transparency report: women working for the school district earn eight per cent less per hour on average than men.",[295,296,297,298],"RichmondBC","RichmondSchools","SchoolDistrict38","PayTransparency",{"sourceName":300},"voche.me",true,"https:\u002F\u002Frichmond-news.com\u002Flocal-news\u002Fnew-chair-vice-chair-elected-for-richmond-school-board-12983775",{"title":6,"description":7},"feature:2026-11-06",[306,308,311,314],{"label":307,"url":302},"Richmond News: New chair, vice-chair elected for Richmond school board",{"label":309,"url":310},"Richmond News: Women earn eight per cent less than men: Richmond school district report","https:\u002F\u002Frichmond-news.com\u002Flocal-news\u002Fwomen-earn-eight-per-cent-less-than-men-richmond-school-district-report-12974294",{"label":312,"url":313},"BC Government: Pay Transparency Act","https:\u002F\u002Fwww2.gov.bc.ca\u002Fgov\u002Fcontent\u002Femployment-business\u002Femployment-standards-advice\u002Femployment-standards\u002Fpay-transparency",{"label":315,"url":316},"Richmond School District: 2025\u002F2026 Pay Transparency Report","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sd38.bc.ca\u002F","news\u002Frichmond-board-of-education-inaugural-meeting-november-2026","feature",[13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20],"richmond-board-of-education-inaugural-november-2026\u002Ffeature","cQSUV4aJIjVX9Dr4XqJSnsryc_Oo17arzsU5yARjsp0",[323,336,344,353,360,367],{"slug":15,"name":148,"office":324,"party":325,"portrait":327,"colour":335,"palette":21},"School Trustee",{"name":326},"Advance Richmond",{"src":328,"smallSrc":329,"width":330,"height":331,"alt":332,"credit":326,"sourceUrl":333,"position":334},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Frod-belleza-640.webp","\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Frod-belleza-320.webp",640,800,"Rod Belleza, from Advance Richmond.","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.advancerichmond.com\u002Fteam\u002Frod-belleza\u002F","50% 30%","sand",{"slug":16,"name":161,"office":324,"party":337,"portrait":338,"colour":343,"palette":21},{"name":326},{"src":339,"smallSrc":340,"width":330,"height":331,"alt":341,"credit":326,"sourceUrl":342,"position":334},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fdean-billings-640.webp","\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fdean-billings-320.webp","Dean Billings, from Advance Richmond.","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.advancerichmond.com\u002Fteam\u002Fdean-billings\u002F","rose",{"slug":17,"name":153,"office":324,"party":345,"portrait":347,"colour":352,"palette":21},{"name":346},"Richmond Education Party",{"src":348,"smallSrc":349,"width":330,"height":331,"alt":350,"credit":346,"sourceUrl":351,"position":334},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fken-hamaguchi-640.webp","\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fken-hamaguchi-320.webp","Ken Hamaguchi, from Richmond Education Party.","https:\u002F\u002Frichmondeducationparty.ca\u002Fcandidates\u002Fken-hamaguchi","blue",{"slug":18,"name":175,"office":324,"party":354,"portrait":355,"colour":343,"palette":21},{"name":346},{"src":356,"smallSrc":357,"width":330,"height":331,"alt":358,"credit":346,"sourceUrl":359,"position":334},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fheather-larson-640.webp","\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fheather-larson-320.webp","Heather Larson, from Richmond Education Party.","https:\u002F\u002Frichmondeducationparty.ca\u002Fcandidates\u002Fheather-larson",{"slug":19,"name":182,"office":324,"party":21,"portrait":361,"colour":343,"palette":21},{"src":362,"smallSrc":363,"width":330,"height":331,"alt":364,"credit":365,"sourceUrl":366,"position":334},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fdonna-sargent-640.webp","\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fdonna-sargent-320.webp","Donna Sargent, from Donna Sargent campaign.","Donna Sargent campaign","https:\u002F\u002Fvotesargent2026.ca\u002F",{"slug":20,"name":189,"office":324,"party":368,"portrait":370,"colour":352,"palette":21},{"name":369},"Common Sense",{"src":371,"smallSrc":372,"width":330,"height":331,"alt":373,"credit":374,"sourceUrl":375,"position":334},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Falice-wong-640.webp","\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Falice-wong-320.webp","Alice Wong, from Common Sense Alliance.","Common Sense Alliance","https:\u002F\u002Frichmondcommonsense.ca\u002Four-candidates",1793985228900]