West Bend was witness to an incredible exercise in democracy at the local level Thursday night in a jam-packed hearing on the future of the sadly vacated UW campus.
The hearing was held in the gymnasium at the West Bend campus, and one side of the bleachers was filled. There were 278 registered attendees. It was standing room only for some people. Fifty registered to speak, though several opted not to for the sake of time and because their points had already been made.
For openers, hats off to Washington 
County Executive Josh Schoemann and West Bend Mayor Joel Ongert (pictured left) for keeping the meeting going so everyone could have a say. The meeting was scheduled to take one hour, and it lasted almost three. Only a few people left early.
It was a wide ranging discussion as the speakers came down for or against two options for the campus:
- A proposal from the Ozaukee Christian School (OCS) in the Town of Trenton to buy the 200,000 square foot building and 27-acres of the 80-acre campus for $3 million. OCS would operate a grade school and start the 9th grade in 2026, adding an additional grade each year over the next three year.
- A proposal from the West Bend School District (WBSD) to negotiate a deal for the creation of a “Smart Start Academy” that would be a public charter high school. The academy would work with surrounding UW and private four-year universities for transfer of credits. WBSD has been collaborating with the four other K-12 districts that serve the county. In addition to the academy, its proposal includes a joint center starting this fall for expensive special education for the five districts, with the aim of big savings. The four-year charter high school would open in the fall of 2026.
The 50 speakers’ comments revealed bias, opinions, considerable misinformation, logic and a great number of heartfelt positions.
There was a good deal of criticism of the two leaders about their process for arriving at a point in time when final decisions are close to being made. A half dozen speakers said that not enough public input had been sought and not enough straight information had been put forward.
Schoeman created a task force four months ago to explore options. It met publicly four times, always without inviting public input. (Disclosure, I was a member of the five-person task force.)
First off, let’s clear up some misconceptions:
- Not On Tax Rolls – It has never been on the tax rolls since the Carl Pick family donated the property for public use nearly six decades ago. Some people thought that taking the campus off the tax rolls with either option would be a mistake. And it would not go on the tax rolls with either option.
- Land Trust Involvement – The impression has been created that the Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation (CLCF) is in some kind of lash-up with OCS. That has never been the case. CLCF has offered to buy for preservation any excess land not used for other community purposes. It has offered $300,000 for the unused land, including a low-lying fen of 23-acres on the east side of University Drive. It has offered to work with any buyer, renter or lessee.
- $2 Million From State – the State of Wisconsin has offered $2 million to each of the six communities where the two-year campuses were closed a year ago. It is transition money that can be used however a county sees fit. Schoemann mentioned the possible use of the money for a $1.6 million necessary upgrade of the obsolete electric system in the building. It is not known if the upgrade by the county is a requirement for the OCS bid. Schoemann did negotiations with OCS.
- The City’s 26% — Ongert, a member of the task force, said that it had made no recommendations on future use of the land. However, the task force did vote on two recommendations, which Ongert voted for. One was to trade the city’s 26% ownership of the campus for the excess acreage that could be added to the city’s contiguous Ridge Run Park and for the northern portion of the building, including the gymnasium and the theater, for use as a community recreation center. The other was for the county to negotiate with WBSD for a lease of space for the Academy, a day care center and the special education cluster. The mayor, a former WBSD president, did not mention either of the two recommendations.
The majority of the comments from citizens was in favor of keeping control of the campus in community hands and not sell it to a private buyer, such as the OCS nonprofit corporation.
But there was a strong minority contingent in favor of the Christian evangelical school. Several said the morals and values at the Christian charter school were superior to those in public school districts.
Several citizens questioned the governance and financial capacity of OCS. One retired public school teacher worried that the evangelical school would be linked to the Christian Nationalism movement that has gained stature in the Trump Administration. She was concerned about a loss of women’s rights.
As for the financial strengths, the IRS form 990 filed by OSC over the last five years showed top line revenues ranging from $585,000 in 2021 to $1.15 million in 2022. The bottom line over that period ranged from a profit of $565,000 in 2020 to a loss of $47,000 in 2024.
Its assets in 2024 were $1.6 million.
Most of its revenues came from a combination of tuition and voucher money from the state.
A school spokesperson has said that OCS would rely on donors to raise the $3 million. Its annual fundraising has ranged from $50,300 in 2024 to $16,600 in 2023. Its track record on fundraising calls into question how much donor capacity it has for raising $3 million.
Recent reports put OSC enrollment at 147 and 158. The West Bend School District has 5,700 students. The five districts together have more than 17,000 students, including 6,000 high school students.
Task force member Adam Williquette stated in one meeting that any bank giving OCS a loan would do adequate due diligence on OSC’s financial strength. It is not known if OCS has successfully arranged a mortgage.
A national study found that 26% of charter schools go out of business in the first five years.
Tonya Lohr, West Bend teacher, raised the issue of ownership risk of OSC. She said a sale to a private nonprofit corporation would cause the public to lose control of the campus. She said the small charter school would not be open to public input or oversight.
If the school would go under, she said, “It’s the second sale (of the property) that would be disadvantageous to the county. Once an asset like this is gone, it’s gone.”
As for the financial outlook for the revived campus, there would be very little capital expense, other than upgrades, because the public already owns the building. On the operating side, the voucher funds flowing from the state, estimated at about $10,000 per student, would cover the expenses of either charter school.
Fees at a recreation center and/or daycare could cover operating costs in their portion of the building.
What’s next?
Several citizens asked for an extension of the time to deliberate about this important decision for the community. Schoemann said there would be no extension. The time table for a final decision appears to be within the next month or two.
A joint meeting of the county board executive committee and the West Bend Common Council was set for 7:15 p.m. Monday, August 18 at City Hall. It was to be an open public meeting with no public comments permitted.
The major missing element to date in the deliberations over the campus has been the lack of leadership voices. Ongert has not expressed his position on the community recreation center, the transfer of land to Ridge Run Park or the Academy. He did vote in favor of the two amendments by the task force.
Schoemann has not tipped his hand on what he favors.
Jennifer Wimmer
The West Bend School Board and Superintendent Jennifer Wimmer have taken a wait-and-see position on where the county and city want to go. She has welcomed an opportunity to work out a deal for the Academy, the special education cluster and daycare. Wimmer has stepped forward as the lead district for the proposed academy. Wimmer was not at the hearing.
