East Dundee board tables tuition reimbursement plan

A plan to cover a portion of tuition costs for eligible East Dundee employees remains in limbo as trustees tabled a vote on the program at Monday's regular village board meeting.

Trustees postponed action on a proposal to reimburse village employees up to $2,500 for courses in undergraduate and graduate programs directly related the employee's present job or potential future opportunities. The village would cap the program at $10,000 per year.

The amount of reimbursement would be contingent upon the employee's final grade and would not cover textbooks, student fees, matriculation fees, parking or mileage.

Those in favor of the reimbursement, like Village President Dan O'Leary, say it is a small investment in advancing the skills and knowledge-set of employees.

Other trustees, though, oppose the reimbursement because of the village's teetering sales tax base.

"I still that at this point in time think there's still a lot of other issues that we could spend the money on," said Trustee Michael Ruffulo, who spoke against the proposal with Trustee James Carlini.