Sherman Connecticut News

Progress at Sherman School

September 1st 2025

A Construction Project Under the Microscope

Sherman, Conn. — From above, the scene at Sherman School tells a story of anticipation. Fresh aerial images taken by a professional drone pilot reveal the campus ringed by fencing, with industrial-sized dumpsters stationed like sentries around its perimeter. On the grassy fields and dirt stretches nearby, the tracks of heavy machinery crisscross in deliberate arcs — the early signatures of a project just beginning to reshape one of the town’s most important institutions.

Sherman School - Sept 2025

What the images do not yet show is just as telling: the brick-and-window façade of the elementary school remains untouched, unscarred by the work to come. No scaffolding climbs the walls, no steel skeleton juts skyward. For now, the school stands as it has for decades — waiting.

Proposed Construction Overlay - source documents

A Price Tag and a Promise

Sherman voters approved the renovation project with the promise of securing the town’s only public school for another generation. Initial estimates pegged the cost at tens of millions of dollars, a significant outlay for a town of just over 3,500 residents. That financial reality has loomed over every step since.

Town officials have assured residents that careful oversight is in place, but the numbers remain fluid. As construction begins in earnest, concerns linger about whether inflation, supply-chain hiccups, or unexpected structural issues might swell the final bill.

Once you peel back the walls of an older building, you never know what you’ll find.

Visible but Measured Progress

For now, the most visible progress is logistical: fencing, dumpsters, and earth-moving patterns captured from above. The aerial perspective offers a rare sense of scale — Sherman School’s wide lawns now carved by tire tracks, suggesting the methodical advance of equipment staging rather than full demolition.

Residents driving past on Route 37 may see little change, but the drone’s eye reveals the quiet momentum of a project in its preparatory phase.

The Stakes for Sherman

The school is not just another municipal building; it is the heart of Sherman. Generations have walked its hallways, and its future will shape the town’s educational identity for decades. That is why each dollar spent and each delay incurred resonates so loudly.

A playground no more

As work progresses this fall, The Sherman News will continue to track both the physical changes on campus and the budgetary trail they leave behind. For now, the aerial photographs capture a story in its prologue — a town’s investment fenced, staged, and ready to unfold.