So I'm trying 100% to use MVC...

[eluser]Unknown[/eluser]
Views are there to setup the display that the user is going to see. If you need to put code in to convert how the data is displayed, then so be it.

You could code the whole page in Php and have it push out HTML and you'll still be fine.

That being said, most designers use things like Dreamweaver and HTML to design pages - so to make it easier for everybody involved, it's better to develop your views in html and only using php when really needed. Pretty much like what jtkendall did