Washington County officials on Aug. 18 authorized county staff to negotiate a potential sale of the vacant University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Washington County campus to Ozaukee Christian School and to bring a recommendation to the County Board.

The decision follows more than a year of study and outreach after UW–Milwaukee vacated the campus in mid‑2024. County executive staff told the joint meeting of county and city leaders that a limited set of proposals could cover the building’s operating and capital costs; Ozaukee Christian School submitted a purchase offer of $3 million for the building and adjacent parking, and the Cedar Lake Conservation Foundation signaled interest in buying roughly 60 acres of surrounding land to protect it from development. County staff said an independent appraisal had placed the property’s value, with current educational zoning, at about $5 million.

County leaders said a separate $2 million state grant, authorized in last year’s budget for closed campus sites, could be used to reimburse county expenditures on electrical and other urgent capital upgrades. The county currently pays ongoing utility and maintenance costs for the vacant facility; staff characterized those annual carrying costs as material to the county’s budget and said finding an “anchor tenant” or a sale was the only practical path to stop further expense.

At the Aug. 18 meeting, members of the county executive committee debated alternatives including a leasing arrangement with a national charter operator (Excel Education), proposals from local public school districts, and mixed nonprofit uses. Committee speakers said public‑school proposals lacked funding or were multi‑year concepts without immediate resources, and that other nonprofit ideas did not include sufficient operating dollars to sustain the campus. County staff said the Excel lease proposal would have covered operating costs but other nonprofit ideas did not carry comparable revenue.

After discussion the committee voted to direct the county executive and staff to continue negotiating with Ozaukee Christian School and to forward any finalized sale recommendation to the County Board for approval. The motion passed without recorded opposition.

Officials emphasized that any sale would be subject to final County Board approval and to negotiation of terms, including protections or reversionary provisions to preserve community uses. The county and city maintain a 2016 agreement that gives the county primary operational responsibility for the site (the county holds 74% interest and the city 26%), and speakers said that arrangement shapes how proceeds and reimbursements would be handled.

County and city officials said they will seek to negotiate community‑use commitments from the prospective buyer where possible. Speakers from both jurisdictions also urged rapid movement to avoid continued carrying costs and the risk of further deterioration.

What happens next: the county executive’s office will continue negotiations, then bring a recommended sale package, with any proposed terms, to the full County Board for a final decision.