WEST BEND, Wis. — The Washington County Board approved a pitch to negotiate a sale for the empty UW-Milwaukee-Washington County property to a Christian school and a land conservation organization.
After shutting down more than a year ago, the UWMWC campus is closer to having two buyers.
Ozaukee Christian School will buy the building, and Cedar Lake Conservation will buy 60 acres of natural land.
County Executive Josh Schoemann pitched the idea to the board despite some community push-back from weeks prior.
"I have learned that in the last 12 years the way to save something is to sell something," he said. "It's a darn shame that we've allowed this conversation to become a fight between public schools and voucher schools, because it isn't that and shouldn't be that."
Watch: Washington County board approves negotiations to sell former UWM campus
The board supported his pitch, though one member took issue with the amount Ozaukee Christian School will pay for building, and that they're a private organization.
"They don't pay any taxes, but they use all of West Bend's services," district 13 supervisor Brian Gallitz said.
Some community members support the plan.
"I'm very pleased with the fact that it looks like the bulk of the property can be preserved and kept as open space," UWMWC faculty member Gary Britton said. "In general it looks like this may be, from the taxpayer standpoint, the best possible outcome.”
Others do not support the plan.
"It's a big mess because the process was terrible," Germantown community member Angela Schneider said. "They have to make sure that they do things in a better orderly fashion to keep the whole community and taxpayers more involved."
Next, the county executive and county attorney will negotiate with the two buyers, saying they hope to make a deal in the next few months.
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