GROVE CITY, Ohio (WCMH) — Parents in the South-Western City School District are raising concerns about monthly invoices for more than $20,000 coming from a single local lawyer.

Julia O’Brien, a mother in the district, said she was at the Jan. 8 board meeting when the group voted to hire attorney Omar Tarazi, whose website lists a Hilliard home as the address for his law office.

“At the meeting when he was hired, he was on the agenda as a ‘discussion’ item … to assist with a specific personnel issue,” O’Brien said.

Chandra Frederick, another parent in the district and former attorney, has been following transactions between Tarazi and the district ever since he started working there. As of May, she said the new lawyer — also known for his time as a Hilliard city councilman — has moved onto other projects, like the district’s search for a new superintendent.

Board president Chris Boso told NBC4 that hiring Tarazi was part of getting “multiple perspectives” as the group makes decisions for the district.

“For any school board, elected officials often face many complex issues requiring sound and ethical resolution,” Boso wrote. “The district utilizes an array of firms such as Frost Todd Brown, Rich & Gillis Law, Scott Scriven, Zeiger, Tigges, and Little LLP, and Ice Miller Law to resolve such outcomes.”

What raised a red flag for Frederick, however, was the money behind the hired help. She requested copies of Tarazi’s billing for the last several months, in which he charged the district $300 an hour.

“Because those are taxpayer dollars that are paying for his services,” Frederick said. “And in the course of doing that, we’ve received some pretty alarming invoices that he has been sending to the district that taxpayers are paying for, above and beyond legal services that our school district already pays for with firms like Bricker Graydon.”

Tarazi sent three invoices in March. The first asked for $23,823 for 79.41 hours of work performed between January and February. His second billed for $22,932 for 76.44 hours of work from March 1 through 26. An itemized list describing his work is completely redacted, except for dates and hours spent on those days.

“We don’t know if it was for touring our school buildings, which we’ve been told he was doing, or for meeting with candidates for superintendent, or if it’s just sitting in on the board meetings all day because there have been many,” Frederick said.

Asking South-Western City Schools did not shed light either. Executive Director of Communications Evan Debo said the itemized list was protected by attorney-client privilege, and cited several legal cases that allowed them to be redacted in public records.

A third invoice from Tarazi depicts him as a middleman between South-Western City Schools and its superintendent search partner, K-12 Business Consulting. Tarazi asked to have $22,980 sent to his home office from the district’s $75,000 budget toward finding a superintendent. Tarazi sent the bill for “Gold Level service, mileage and additional consultants for facilitation of focus groups” from K-12.

The district did explain why it involved Tarazi in the superintendent search.

"The presence of a legal entity to partner with a search firm helps to ensure prospective applicants can effectively evaluate their interest in the district with safeguards for their families and careers currently elsewhere," Debo wrote.

Frederick countered that Tarazi's involvement added another layer of secrecy.

"Instead of being able to request the billing records for K-12 and see their invoice directly, they are sending it to Mr. Tarazi and then Mr. Tarazi is sending an invoice to the district," Frederick noted. "And then in turn, he is receiving payment from the district that he then passes on to K-12, so there's no real transparency or accountability for what that invoice is really for."

Comparing Tarazi's invoices with the board's meeting agendas show the district is paying him more per month than Bricker Graydon but less than Rich & Gillis Law, two firms the district still employs alongside the solo attorney. However, counting December bills covered in January, the board has paid Bricker Graydon more money combined than Tarazi because the firm sent five invoices compared to Tarazi's three. But Debo confirmed Tarazi was still working with the district as of May, meaning more of his invoices could be coming.

Debo did note that the district may pay certain firms more during specific periods of time based on projects they're involved with.

"During years with significant construction projects you would see several months of substantial invoicing with one firm as opposed to another not being engaged for the same work," Debo said. "In other instances, a legal matter may be reflected in the invoicing over a span of several months whereas matters with another firm may fit squarely within the same 30 day billing cycle."

Still, the lack of reasoning behind Tarazi's involvement in district projects is part of what concerns parents like Frederick and O'Brien.

"There was no real explanation as to why we needed another law firm contracted for the district. It just felt like we were writing him a blank check," Frederick said.

NBC4 spoke with Tarazi on Friday. He said to respect attorney-client privilege with South-Western City Schools, he could not share details about the work he performed for them. During his time in Hilliard City Council, he opposed its urban development plan and also investigated a finance director's firing.

Debo also said that Tarazi will have more work in the district ahead of him.

"Following a busy start to the 2024 calendar year characterized by an ongoing superintendent hiring process and the recent onboarding of three brand new school board members, we can anticipate talks to formalize a contractual relationship with Mr. Tarazi - to include both expectations and scope of work - to be forthcoming following the conclusion of the current superintendent hiring process," Debo wrote.