The Illusion of Stewardship

Bankruptcies, Budgets, and Sherman’s $42.8M Trap

Don Lowe and The 42.8m Cover Up.

In the theater of municipal politics, the most effective way to obscure a failing ledger is to direct the public’s attention elsewhere. For the past several weeks, the administration of First Selectman Don Lowe has engaged in a remarkable display of civic misdirection, mobilizing state police, contacting federal agencies, and issuing alarming emails to parents regarding a local journalist’s legally registered drone flight.

The sudden hysteria emanating from Town Hall begs a fundamental question: Why the disproportionate administrative response to a camera in the sky? The answer, as it often does, resides in the town's ledgers.

The Paradox of the Mill Rate

Personal Insolvency and Administrative Inflation

For years, First Selectman Don Lowe has meticulously cultivated the persona of a fiscal pragmatist—a steward of the public purse who valiantly holds the line on Sherman’s taxes. Yet, an examination of public records, historical budgets, and board minutes reveals a vastly different reality. It is a portrait of profound institutional neglect, masking what amounts to a massive, quiet transfer of municipal wealth.

Mr. Lowe has occupied various levers of Sherman’s government since 2000. However, his personal financial baseline stands in stark contrast to his public branding. Public records confirm that in 2017—a mere year before he was elected to oversee the town’s multi-million-dollar budget—Mr. Lowe filed for personal bankruptcy.

First Selectman's Salary Year over Year

How does an administration justify massive administrative salary spikes while claiming to maintain fiscal austerity? By engaging in a multi-million-dollar shell game with the town's most vital capital asset: The Sherman School.

The Architecture of a Crisis

A $2.3 Million Surplus Built on Deferred Maintenance

The prevailing narrative advanced by the administration suggests that the Sherman School simply reached the end of its natural lifespan, succumbing to the inevitable ravages of time. The documentary record, however, contradicts this framing. The building’s decline was not an unforeseen tragedy; it was the predictable result of a calculated, long-term political strategy.

Following the closure of the K-Wing in 2015, the school routinely returned funds—allocations originally earmarked for education and facility maintenance—back to the municipality. By chronically underfunding the capital requirements necessary to maintain the building’s structural integrity, the administration artificially bolstered the town’s coffers, hoarding an estimated $2.3 million.

He did not achieve a low mill rate through innovative financial stewardship. He achieved it by redirecting the school’s maintenance funds, allowing a vital community asset to deteriorate while masking the true cost of governance.

The Ledger of Betrayal

To understand how the school fell into such catastrophic disrepair, one only needs to look at the money the town was given, versus the money they actually spent on the building:

The First Selectman was not blind to the school's failing infrastructure. Direct communications from the Superintendent in 2020 confirmed that comprehensive repairs were imminent and necessary. Yet, the executive branch avoided the reality. The administration watched the Board of Education reject millions in targeted, incremental repairs, fully aware that a massive capital investment was being wheeled into the town square like a fiscal Trojan Horse.

The Politics of Distraction

Weaponizing Authority Against Transparency

When a municipality hoards $2.3 million in necessary maintenance capital to artificially suppress taxes, the bill inevitably comes due. For Sherman, that deferred reality has manifested as an apocalyptic $42.8 million bond.

This stark financial reality provides the necessary context for the recent drone panic. When a camera was directed at the physical consequences of this multi-million-dollar negligence, the First Selectman’s office did not respond with transparency. Instead, it weaponized 911 dispatchers and stoked parental fears, transforming a neighbor into a nebulous threat.

The administration is indeed feeling threatened, but not by an unmanned aerial vehicle. The true threat to Town Hall is an informed electorate—taxpayers who are beginning to recognize that the most perilous actors are not the ones operating cameras, but the ones quietly bankrupting the town’s future to subsidize their political present.

Update: Administration Response

Mar 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM EST

Prior to publication, Sherman CT News submitted a formal media inquiry to First Selectman Donald Lowe, Superintendent Patricia Cosentino, and the Board of Education regarding the issues detailed in this report.

The Administration was provided a deadline of 12:00 PM today to provide a statement or correction. As of publication time, the Town of Sherman has declined to comment or address these inquiries.

Sherman News remains open to publishing any official response from the Town regarding these matters.