Washington County executive recommends sale of UWM–Washington County campus to Ozaukee Christian School, conservation group

The Washington County executive recommended on the board floor that the county sell the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Washington County campus and surrounding acreage to Ozaukee Christian School and the Cedar Lake Conservation Foundation and asked the county board to authorize negotiation of the sale and an offer to the City of West Bend for its 26% ownership share.

The recommendation was delivered during a regular Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting; no vote on the sale was recorded at the meeting. The board instead voted to move into closed session on related negotiation matters, with a roll-call vote recorded as aye by members present.

County Executive (name not specified) summarized a yearlong review and a task‑force process that produced two proposals he said carried sufficient financial detail. He said one proposal — from a national charter operator referenced earlier as Excel Education — offered roughly $800,000 a year to lease about one-third of the building, while the county also had a purchase offer from Ozaukee Christian School and a related offer from Cedar Lake Conservation Foundation (CLCF).

The executive said the county’s appraisal of the property is $5,000,000 and that available and…