TAMPA — The Hillsborough County School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to hire Addison Davis as superintendent, impressed by his energy and convinced that, among three finalists, he is best equipped to give students of all backgrounds a quality education.

New teachers in Florida would earn among the highest paid in the country under a plan Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday.

The minimum starting salaries for teachers would rise from a state average of $37,636 to $47,500, which would vault the state from 26th in teacher starting pay to as high as second, under a budget proposal the governor discussed at Bayview Elementary in Fort Lauderdale.

Suggesting that teacher pay is not on par with other degreed professionals, Florida Department of Education officials on Wednesday called for more money to go into educator salaries.

“Teacher compensation is going to be a huge component of the agenda going forward,” education commissioner Richard Corcoran told the Board of Education during a meeting at Polk State College.

The annual Best High Schools Rankings by U.S. News & World Report have a new wrinkle this year. The digital news and information company now ranks public high schools within each metropolitan area across the nation.

Pam Stewart, Florida's education commissioner since 2013, announced her resignation Tuesday as speculation swirled that Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis sought to replace her with former House Speaker Richard Corcoran.

“Sponsoring Give Day is a perfect fit with our focus on helping the community effect change,” said Jose Colindres, chief operating officer, The Brink Foundation, this year’s premier sponsor for Give Day. “Nonprofits can leverage the marketing power behind Give Day to gain more exposure and to make an even greater positive impact.”

TAMPA — Elementary school students programmed an electronic mouse to make its way through a maze.

When the demonstration was done and the applause died down, a Hillsborough County School District official posed a question.

"Adults in this room, how many of you had the opportunity to do things like this during your kindergarten through 12th grade education?’’ said Larry Plank, director of STEM Education for the district. "None, right? So the world is an ever-changing place.

TAMPA — Students from Puerto Rico and other islands ravaged by recent hurricanes are welcome in Hillsborough County. It says so at the top of the district website, in Spanish.

And now it's a message that has been passed to the principals of the district's more than 240 schools, in writing last week and verbally at Tuesday's School Board meeting.

"They should be welcome in our schools and every effort should be made to enroll the students on the same day," superintendent Jeff Eakins said.