Why does a member of the Fairfax County School Board have 308,000 Twitter followers, more than most members of Congress?
Ryan McElveen is popular because he tweets news of snow-day school closings or delays in his populous Northern Virginia county.
When he announces a snow day, he’s rewarded with hundreds of encouraging tweets from students. “OUR BOY RYAN CAME THRU,” tweeted one student after school was closed last week.
But this coin has two sides. When school isn’t canceled, his Twitter feed explodes with rage and disappointment.
On a cold day in January with some snow on the ground, McElveen announced a two-hour delay instead of a day off. That decision generated 1,400 angry replies from students, many of whom revealed a budding interest in meteorology and tort law.
“All this stuff is going to freeze overnight,” one student with 37 followers tweeted at McElveen. “Not smart Ryan.”
“I’m suing fcps when i die tomorrow from ice,” wrote another.
A generation ago, kids had to listen to the radio or watch TV to see if their school was closed, and had no recourse. Today, kids find out instantly and can immediately tell the world what they think of it.
For McElveen, it’s all part of the job.
“I read as much as I can,” he told the Washington Examiner. “Twitter is a really great way to engage with students.”
McElveen is only the messenger. The decision to close or delay school is taken by other officials, who coordinate with bus drivers and weather forecasters.
But McElveen takes most of the heat for announcing their decisions. He says he’s on friendly terms with students, even when he orders them to wake up and endure another day of learning.
“When I meet kids in person, they’re really excited to meet me, and they really don’t care about the weather calls,” he said.
Twitter can be intense. McElveen had a brush with fame in 2015, when a morning storm developed after he announced school would be open.
Students complained about the decision as they got stuck on impassable roads, and #CloseFCPS briefly became the second most popular Twitter hashtag in the world.
Nothing lasts forever. McElveen, a Democrat, is running to be the chairman of the country’s board of supervisors. If he wins, someone else will have to absorb the clamor of students who’ll say just about anything to escape class.
“Your heart is as cold as it is outside,” one wrote after McElveen announced a recent two-hour delay. Another tried bribery: “Close and I’ll make you a cake.”
Sometimes, when all the carrots and all the sticks have been used up, desperate students will even try honesty.
“Hey plz close I don’t wanna go back,” one student begged.
