A Wake County father said he wanted to honor his son for being valedictorian, even though the school won’t.

Garry Allmon said he hoped the digital billboard along U.S. 64/264 just past the Wendell Boulevard exit would also send a message.

The billboard reads, “Congrats Josh Allmon. You will always be our valedictorian. East Wake Class of 2018.” 

Josh said his father mentioned the idea to him, but that he didn’t think he’d actually do it.

“It shows how much he loves me, for one, but also it shows he understands how the high achieving students work and wants to get the message across,” Josh said.

A spokeswoman for Wake County Schools said East Wake High no longer has valedictorians. That policy took effect last year. Lisa Luten said the school chose to adopt an innovative school model.

Garry Allmon said all the schools in the district should have the same policy. He said his son wasn’t invited to a special breakfast earlier this month where the district honored about 25 valedictorians across the district. 

Josh said he wakes up at 4 a.m. to study, and that he’s taken 14 AP classes. He plans to attend N.C. State in the fall. 

Josh said he believes the policy could hurt high achieving students moving forward. He said it might make them less competitive in the college admissions process.

Garry declined to say how much he spent on the billboard, but told CBS 17 he got a big discount. 

It’ll be up through graduation day.