Van Ayres

For most students in the Tampa Bay region, school starts Aug. 12. On Wednesday, Hillsborough district officials unveiled new programs and priorities to help students succeed.

County leaders are refusing to place the school district's property tax question on the November ballot even after a judge's ruling telling them to comply. The district says it will fight back.

The Community Investment Tax (CIT) has funded schools since 1996, but county commissioners are debating whether to keep the district in its tax plan.

The one millage property tax would cost the average homeowner about $1 a day, and close a wage gap that Superintendent Van Ayres said is causing employees to leave the district.

He had served on an interim basis following the resignation of Addison Davis.