A North Carolina man has bought digital billboard space to honor his son's academic achievements because he says the high school won't recognize him as valedictorian under a new system.

Local news outlets report Garry Allmon paid $1,800 for the 14-by-48-foot (4-by-14 meter) billboard east of Raleigh which reads "Congrats Josh Allmon. You will always be our valedictorian. East Wake Class of 2018."

Josh Allmon's 5.31 grade-point average is highest of the 270 East Wake graduates. He said the billboard was a public statement about how the reputation of high-achieving students is undermined under the new academic honor system.

A new Wake County Schools policy is phasing out such titles and replacing individual rankings with the Latin honors system. All Wake County high schools will begin using the system next year.