Four new teachers will join the Edwardsburg High School staff this fall as the Edwardsburg Board of Education approved their hiring at its regular meeting Monday night.

Jessica Sherburn comes to Edwardsburg a recent honors graduate from Michigan State University. She will teach English.

Jennifer Funnell brings her expertise as a visual arts teacher. She has a BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design and a master of arts from University of Northern Colorado.

Katherine Hansen, a graduate of Western Michigan University, will teach business education. She previously taught at Liberal Public Schools in Kansas.

Christopher Ristau will be a new science teacher. He has a bachelor’s from Michigan State University and is working on a master’s in education administration from Lamar University. He has worked in Durham Public Schools and in Ottawa Area Intermediate-Wavecrest Career Academy.

The board also approved final resolutions to the 2013-14 budget and adopted final resolutions for the 2014-15 budget.

The final 2013-14 budget will end with a deficit of $220,887. This reflects a $494,861 savings from the budget adopted in June of last year, a result of additional state revenues and decreased expenditures.

The 2014-15 budget predicts revenues of $21,785,704 and expenditures of $22,175,244 resulting in a deficit of $389,539. Revenues include a projected $7,251 per student allowance from the state aid budget and a non-homestead millage of $1,748,382.

Expenditures include adjustments to instructor salaries for those with experience or advanced degrees, an increase in state required retirement rates, curriculum enhancement materials and the Edwardsburg Middle College program.

A kindergarten teacher position was eliminated at the primary school because enrollment is expected to go down, but the position was absorbed by an opening at the Intermediate School which resulted from a fourth grade teacher’s retirement.

Revisions were made to the 2014-2015 student handbook to include measures to aid the pick-up/drop-off process. Students and parents will now have tags to identify the students who walk home and those that are being picked up and to better ID the people picking them up.

Board President Birdella Holdread says she hopes this will streamline the process, allow for a more systematic and organized pick-up and improve the safety of students.