After 20 years of service to his community on the Menomonee Falls School Board, Tony Cherney heard the gavel pound on his last Menomonee Falls School Board meeting.

This community has a lot to thank Tony Cherney for other than his longevity on the board. The school district is in a lot better shape today than it might have been if Tony was not only watching the bottom line on a weekly basis but also putting money in the piggy bank to fund emergencies and reduce short term borrowing costs. His fiscal discipline will pay dividends in the years to come.  

Tony also was a catalyst for starting to fund our future obligations to teachers and employees of the district. Still, Tony was not very popular with the union negotiators. In my opinion, if you win popularity contests with the people on the opposite side of the negotiating table you might not be the right person for that job.

Strong advocate of “Financial Literacy”

Tony really loves working with numbers and wanted everyone else to feel the same way. He felt so strongly about educating our students and future leaders about numbers that he strongly advocated programs that would build an understanding of finance. He was respected at the state level and wrote, or helped write, the financial literacy standards now adapted by the State of Wisconsin.

I could always count on Tony to break the tension in a long meeting with a joke or quip. I could always count on him to laugh at one of mine. His sense of humor did not reflect the seriousness he put toward the position, or the results he was able to deliver to the school district.

Thank you Tony.