Washington County may hit a snag in selling the former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Washington County campus to a private Christian school.
A foundation is demanding the county either withdraw from the $3 million sale or pay back at least $1.2 million the group gave for a building construction project on the condition its purpose be for public education.
The Washington County Charitable Foundation filed a notice of injury or claim for damages in September, which was first reported by the Washington County Daily News. The notice is usually the precursor to a lawsuit filed against a local government.
The Washington County Board in late August approved negotiating the sale of the West Bend campus to Ozaukee Christian School for $3 million. The deal drew some criticism for lacking a competitive bidding process and yielding an offer below the property’s appraised value.
UW-Milwaukee closed the Washington County campus in June 2024, citing a declining number of Wisconsin high school students and financial pressures. The two-year branch campus is jointly owned by the Washington County and the city of West Bend.
The closure left the city and county with an 80-acre property and 200,000-square-foot building that costs at least $300,000 annually to maintain.
The Washington County Charitable Foundation began in 1974 to support local students studying at the Washington County campus. Between 2000 and 2009, it raised more than $1.2 million to fund the renovation and construction of the main campus building, with a focus on the Collins Science Hall.
“By selling to a private entity, the County Board is terminating public access to the Campus and the public education function of the Collins Science Hall,” Erin Strobehn, a Husch Blackwell attorney representing the foundation, wrote in the notice.
Washington County does not plan to withdraw from the sale, county spokeswoman Fran McLaughlin said in an email. The county’s legal counsel does not believe the foundation’s notice will be successful.
It’s unclear when the lawsuit may be filed. Strobehn did not return a call and email seeking comment. Foundation executive director Joan Rudnitzki declined to comment.
Kelly Meyerhofer has covered higher education in Wisconsin since 2018. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Group tries to halt sale of UW-Washington County campus to private Christian school
Reporting by Kelly Meyerhofer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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