Cox said that he solicited a proposal from Tarazi on recommendation from the National School Boards Leadership Council, a conservative-aligned school board trade organization, adding that he was dissatisfied with the district’s current legal services provided by national firm Frost Brown Todd, specifically in regards to the cost of those services, and “failure to redact” conversations that were subject to attorney-client privilege, Cox said, calling it a “public embarrassment.”
“Omar tells me that he believes that Xenia is likely to lose this case now at the Ohio Supreme Court, all of which is more information regarding this lawsuit...than I have ever been told by anyone from Frost Brown Todd,” Cox said. “Omar Tarazi has a demonstrated record of reducing legal costs of the school district that he’s worked for, and in light of these things being revealed to me, he will get my yes vote tonight. ”
In a terse exchange, Superintendent Gabe Lofton strongly objected to the idea of hiring Tarazi, asking Cox repeatedly whether Tarazi’s proposal was solicited solely by Cox without full board or administrative involvement.
“There were no conversations with the superintendent. There were no conversations with the chief financial officer. There were no conversations with any of the board members that I’m aware of,” Lofton said. “You took it upon yourself to solicit one proposal, and that proposal happened to be from Mr. Tarazi. I think that’s seriously problematic.”
“I’ve had enough interactions with you in the past, Mr. Superintendent, to be cautious about coming to you with anything,” Cox replied.
On December, board members Cox and Joshua Day met with incoming members Deborah Williams and Tyler Scott. As Williams and Scott were not sworn in, the meeting did not yet constitute a quorum, which would be a violation of Sunshine Laws. There, the four now-board members met with Tarazi via Zoom to discuss potential legal services, though both Day and Scott said they had no prior knowledge that this meeting with Tarazi was going to happen.
Tarazi made headlines last year for charging hefty service fees in a suburban Columbus district where he was hired. In September 2025, the Columbus Dispatch reported that the South Western City Schools’ teachers union blasted Tarazi’s $9,000 monthly retainer fee. Tarazi also courted controversy at an August 2025 forum hosted by right-leaning Americans for Prosperity, where he said unions are a “runaway train” that serve as a “mobilization and fundraising machine for the Democratic Party.”
Tarazi, reached for comment Tuesday, said his understanding of what he would be doing for Xenia was “limited in scope,” and that in order to give any legal advice whatsoever to the district’s board members would require a contract for his services. Tarazi also said his understanding was that he would not be “replacing” the district’s current legal counsel, but rather working with Xenia on a “project basis.”
“I think school boards fundamentally would be more effective in all aspects is if they adopt essentially more of a city model,” he said. “It’s collaborative, the lawyer directly works with the board…And I think that if boards want to be school boards, I think that’s a fundamental reason why many school boards are not as effective is that they don’t operate in that way.”
“If I was involved in Xenia, I would like to help set them up to work in that manner or see how working in that manner is more effective, but that’s not something I was seeing myself as long-term,” he added.
Regarding his union comments, Tarazi said that he has no problem with unions, but with the “imbalance” of influence those unions have.
“The more the incentive structures are imbalanced, therefore the more dysfunctional everything ends up being,” he said. “I have no problem with unions, but I kind of have a concern where the local union is a monopoly essentially, because it’s got control over collective bargaining with the local district, generally speaking. When do these associations…when are they adding value and when are they not adding value?”
Tarazi was most recently contracted by the Little Miami School District in Warren County. He previously worked with South Western School District near Columbus, though said his contract with them has ended.
Tarazi also added that he had not been solicited for services to Xenia for any particular court case the district is facing.
Proposals for Briscoe Consulting Firm and C4 Consulting were tabled before the meeting started, though several residents questioned why the board was considering hiring an outside consultant to review its financial policies, when a similar consultant had been hired in the last few years to do the same thing.
“Seeing another audit on the agenda...hiring an out-of-state consulting firm on the agenda, these are things that raise a red flag to me. What is the agenda of the new board?” said Susan Fellie. “What is the rush for these changes and inquiries? Is there an outside agenda? A five-year strategic plan was just unveiled...Audits were just completed and discrepancies were noted and intended to. Is it prudent for the newly formed team to swipe this all away and start over?”
Both Tarazi and Briscoe were recommended by the National School Boards Leadership Council, which asserts “core curriculum has faded in public education to be replaced with emotional learning, psychological abuses and political ideology,” according to their website.
Tarazi said he has no formal affiliation with the NSBLC or Briscoe.
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