After years of wrangling about the issue, a divided appeals court rejected a property-tax exemption for a Gainesville acupuncture school that argued it qualified because it is an educational institution.

The First District Court of Appeal sided with Alachua County Property Appraiser Ed Crapo, who in 2014 rejected an exemption for Academy for Five Element Acupuncture Inc. because he said it did not meet the legal definition of an educational institution for tax-exemption purposes.