No major problems arose during a visit to Des Moines, Iowa, by three District 202 board members, clearing the way for Eric Witherspoon, the superintendent in Des Moines, to become Evanston Township High School’s new superintendent.

Witherspoon’s hiring was contingent upon the visit.

“We went to see how Eric Witherspoon is regarded in his own community,” board member Margaret Lurie said.

After the Feb. 13 board meeting, ETHS’s school board voted 4-3 to hire Witherspoon to replace Allan Alson, who will retire in June after 14 years as ETHS’s superintendent.

School Board Vice President Ross Friedman said he, Lurie, Missy Fleming and Rachel Hayman voted for Witherspoon’s appointment. School Board President Mary Wilkerson, Jane Colleton, and Martha Burns voted against hiring Witherspoon.

Burns, Lurie and Wilkerson were the board members who went to Des Moines.

Lurie said the three of them had the opportunity to speak with high school principals, parents, teachers, board members, and African American leaders in the community.

Lurie said the visit was efficient and no one had a negative thing to say about Witherspoon.

“We were very pleased,” Lurie said. “I think he’ll be a good fit for our community.”

Lurie noted an article in the Des Moines Register that quoted Burns as saying she had changed her mind about Witherspoon. Burns told the newspaper Feb. 19 that she was “impressed with the outpouring of support for him in terms of what he has done for this community.”

Burns and Wilkerson could not be reached for comment Sunday and Monday.

The ETHS school board will meet in closed session tonight to discuss Witherspoon’s hiring.

Reach Anna Prior at [email protected].