including a php file in an html doc

I have a .php file whose purpose, ultimately, is to set one variable; $hotspot. Now I want to include that var in a bunch of places in my html page (it must remain html). So this was my thought. In the <head> include the following: <script language="php" src="hotspot.php"></script> and then anywhere in the html doc I want to print the value of $hotspot I type: <?=$hotspot?> but it doesn't work. I have a feeling I cant include a php script that way because in trying to debug the problem I made the first line of hotspot.php = echo "test"; and the word test never shows. What am I missing? Thnks Alex