An Ocean County dad initially banned from attending his son’s high school graduation agreed to a last-minute deal with the local schools superintendent to attend the ceremony on Wednesday, a local news site reported.
Michael Ollendorf said he received a letter Tuesday from the superintendent offering to allow him to attend the Point Pleasant Borough High School ceremony, with certain conditions, Point Pleasant Patch said.
“I am going to the graduation. There are some parts of the agreement I don’t agree with but for my family and everyone involved in the graduation I have agreed. It’s all good,” Ollendorf told the news website.
Ollendorf was initially banned from the ceremony after a lengthy dispute with school officials that began with a disagreement over his son’s role on the football team.
Ollendorf did not immediately respond to NJ Advance Media’s request for comment Wednesday.
School officials said the ceremony concluded with no disruptions.
“We are pleased to confirm that the Point Pleasant Borough High School graduation ceremony was a safe, dignified, and distraction-free event,” Point Pleasant Superintendent Adam Angelozzi told NJ Advance Media following the ceremony.
“This allowed our graduates, their families, and friends to fully enjoy this significant milestone within the community they are a large part of,” Angelozzi said.
Word of the settlement came hours after the Point Pleasant police department addressed social media discussion of a possible protest at the ceremony over Ollendorf’s ban from graduation.
Police said they had not confirmed that a protest was being planned, but were “prepared to deploy additional resources to the graduation venue and surrounding area as necessary.”
Ollendorf was barred from school district property by Angelozzi last fall following a series of disputes dating back to 2023 centering on his son’s playing time on the football team.
In April, Ollendorf requested an exception to the ban so he could attend his son’s graduation. But, the superintendent declined to grant it, saying in a letter “you will not be permitted to be present on school property for the graduation ceremony.”
Prior to the resolution, Ollendorf said he was contemplating watching the graduation ceremony while standing in the back of a pickup truck on the street.
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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.