Latest news with #Tarazi
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
South-Western schools parents remain concerned about outside attorney's cost
GROVE CITY, Ohio (WCMH) — Parents who were concerned about the political affiliation of the advisory groups that the South Western City School Board joined last month revived concerns about another adviser to the board. 'Omar Tarazi is a very, very hot button issue,' district parent Kyra Paul said. 'He is known for being very politically charged and motivated in different ways. So by joining these organizations and by having that kind of legal counsel, I think it will 100% skew them (the board).' Tarazi is an attorney who has billed the district $166,885 between January 2024 and March 31, 2025. Parents like Paul said they were concerned with the high price tag and the lack of transparency about his services. Parents also said they worry about the alleged increased time spent in executive session with Tarazi and his record in education. See previous coverage of the concerns in the video player above. Grove City dentist retires months after patient dies Tarazi was first brought in by the district in January 2024. At $300 an hour, he quickly racked up payments over $20,000 per month for undisclosed services with the board. 'Engaging multiple perspectives has consistently benefited past and present school boards, providing a robust model for both checks and balances,' district spokesperson Evan Debo previously told NBC4 about hiring Tarazi. In July 2024, the board of education contracted Tarazi at $9,000 per month to serve on retainer. According to his contract, he can also bill up to $300 an hour for 'nonroutine services.' His contract expired in December with the opportunity to renew it. Debo said the board renewed the contract when it expired, which occurred outside of public meetings. He explained Tarazi's services are different than hiring an employee, so it did not have to be open to the public. He equated the situation to district snow shovelers, as both are procured as-needed but do not involve direct employment. Debo also addressed concerns about how much Tarazi is costing the district. South Western City Schools teachers, board clash over contract 'Since Tarazi Law has been assisting the district retroactive to 2024, the district has actually seen a savings of $191,373 in overall legal expenditures relative to the 2023 levels,' Debo said. District legal invoices corroborate Debo's statement, although the data is only up-to-date through the end of March. Legal invoices do not detail what the services are for. According to his contract, he is required to attend all board meetings, draft documents and provide legal help as requested. Parents said that since hiring Tarazi, the board appears to spend more time in executive session. They pointed to comments he made at a Big Walnut School Board meeting, alleging he is using attorney-client privilege to work outside the public eye. 'The amount of time spent in executive session since he has been hired has skyrocketed, and there is a direct correlation between the time in executive session and the lack of transparency and accountability with our board as he represents them,' parent Amanda Gooding said. Endangered black bear spotted in central Ohio for the first time in over two decades However, Debo said the district is currently engaged in contract negotiations for more than 2,700 employees across three unions. He said longer executive sessions are part of the district adequately building union agreements that retain talent and provide quality education. 'All school boards across the state of Ohio use discretionary tools such as executive session time to consult with legal counsel and thoroughly review proposals in order to secure fair and competitive agreements that support both our staff and students,' Debo said. 'Legal representation for any district is both a negotiations standard and a necessary part of the process, with the specific reasons for the session identified on every board agenda and at every public meeting when enacted.' Parents said aside from the money, they were concerned with Tarazi not having a background in education law and with his advocacy for charter schools. According to public records, he has testified twice at the Statehouse in favor of charter schools, and he, his wife and his parents have all been involved in charter schools, from volunteer positions to serving as principal. 'If you want to hire staff, teachers, administrators for whatever reason, and they've got to have the merit and they've got to be qualified,' Paul said. 'Why wouldn't you seek the same for your legal counsel?' State, federal cannabis changes threaten Ohio festival's future Tarazi did not respond to a request for comment by publication, but he spoke with NBC4 previously about not having a background in education law. 'A district has every kind of legal issue that comes up,' Tarazi said. 'There's a lot of different aspects of law, and I have a lot of experience in the area the board wants me to help them with.' Tarazi's contract will expire Dec. 31. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Middle East Eye
23-04-2025
- General
- Middle East Eye
'We didn't hear his voice': Gaza's churches fall silent after death of Pope Francis
Karima Tarazi says that with the death of Pope Francis earlier this week, the churches of Gaza have fallen silent. Tarazi's family, like hundreds of others, has been living for the past 18 months in two Gaza churches - the Holy Family Church and St Porphyrius Greek Orthodox - and is still coming to terms with the pope's absence. The 63-year-old Palestinian American spoke to Middle East Eye at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, where a mass for the pope was being held on Tuesday. She said her family's homes were destroyed in October 2023 by Israeli bombardment, and her relatives have been holed up in the two churches since. But later that month, 17 members of her extended family were killed when the St Porphyrius church itself was struck by Israeli bombs. The pope's daily phone calls to the parish didn't merely provide relief; they gave them the spiritual fuel to go on. "There wasn't a day in the past year and a half that my family, who are [living] in the Holy Family and in Saint Porphyrius in Gaza, did not receive a call from him to make sure that they were okay," Tarazi told Middle East Eye. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "This morning, I spoke to my family, and they said there was a silence today," she said, "We didn't hear his voice," she narrated them as having said, as she held back tears. Supporter of Palestinian rights The Vatican announced on Monday that Pope Francis had passed away after a short illness. He was 88 years old. Like many other churches around the world, on Tuesday, the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart held a mass for the pontiff. Church officials told MEE that around 2,000 people attended the special ceremony in which congregants came to pay their respects and offer prayers for the pope. Tarazi originally hails from Jerusalem, and her father, Zuhdi Labib Tarazi, was the first to represent the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) at the United Nations. She recalled meeting Pope Francis when he was still a priest in Argentina, after her father was posted there in the early 1970s. She was eight years old at the time and had met him along with her brother and parents. Tarazi said that Pope Francis was not just a proponent of Palestinian rights but a person of principle and courage. 'The Pope left, and the occupation and the wall remained' - Pastor Munther Isaac Whereas his death has left the 1.4 billion Catholics around the world in mourning, for Palestinian Christians, his passing has left them feeling exceptionally vulnerable. Since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023, conservative estimates suggest that at least 51,300 people have been killed, with at least 117,096 wounded. Reports indicate that over 80 percent of Christians in Gaza have been displaced. Pope Francis routinely condemned Israel's war on Gaza. In November, he appeared to support what human rights groups have unanimously labeled a genocide. Tarazi said it was "difficult to understand why anybody, after listening to his holiness, would not understand the plight of Palestinians and those that follow the Christian faith". "And it behooves me whenever I hear someone calling themselves Christian, but they cannot see us as a people, us as Palestinian Christians, Muslims, Jews, Bahai, Samaritans, Druze, all of us, We go under one name. We're all Palestinians," Tarazi said. Likewise, Kathy O'Leary with Friends of Sabeel New Jersey/Pax Chisti, who also attended the mass in Newark, told MEE that it was Pope Francis' approach to people that distingished his leadership from others. The mass held for Pope Francis at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, on 22 April 2025 (Azad Essa/MEE) "I think his quiet witness with the Catholic Church [in Gaza] was probably the greatest example as advocates and activists. His simple phone call to the members of the parish, was so meaningful for them; for their morale and to give them courage and hope," O'Leary said. O'Leary said that just the idea that someone outside cared about them meant the world to them. 'Dear friend' In a tribute posted on social media on Tuesday, Palestinian pastor Munther Isaac said Palestinians had lost a "dear friend" who was "beloved in Palestine". "He conveyed true compassion to Palestinians, most notably to those in Gaza during this genocide. His pastoral heart was evident in his insistence on calling the Christian community besieged in Gaza on a constant basis, even from his hospital," Isaac said. Recounting the pope's visit to Israel's separation wall in Bethlehem, he said: "The pope left, and the occupation and the wall remained. Gaza's Christians mourn 'true loss' of Pope Francis but hail his enduring solidarity Read More » "But we were left with a renewed sense of hope - knowing that we are not forgotten." In his final address on Easter Sunday, read out by an aide from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Pope Francis condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation in Gaza". Tarazi said that one of the pope's main legacies would be his commitment to treating people with respect and dignity. "It doesn't matter how wealthy you are, the most important thing is that we treat everybody with kindness with respect, regardless of anything they have done in their lives, or regardless of anything that they need or don't need," she said. She said she hopes that the next pope will mirror some of his values. "I hope the cardinals will choose someone who will continue his mission of peace and humaniy," she added.
