Fort Brooke FLA
September 15th 1868
Charles H. Foster
Supt of Education
B.R.F and A.L.
St. Augustine FLA
Sir:
Your communication of the 31st all, in relation to the establishing of schools for the freedpeople has been received. In reply I would state that there is but one school in my district for Freedmen and that is only temporarily supplied with a Teacher- Roberts by Vance has received little or no compensation for his services. the people are too poor to pay for the schooling of their children in my opinion no dependence can be placed in the Colored people for the support of a Teacher. To the best of my information there should be three schools established in Hernando and Manatee Counties and at Tampa and it is believed that from sixty to seventy colored children could be gotten together at each of these places to attend school. There are no school houses and the freedpeople would not be able to build them.
Very Respectfully
Your obs Servt
(NO SIGNATURE)
** This report outlines the need for more schools in the Hernando- Hillsborough districts since there had been only one school established. The teacher Roberts spoken about in this letter had previously been the teacher in Brooksville but due to lack of pay and bad health he moved. Mr. Roberts was a disabled man from the Civil War and had no use of his arms and had a bad leg. Mr. Roberts could not write but was able to teach the Freedmen at his schools. Despite the lack of pay, Mr. Roberts continued to teach at the schools for freedmen. In this report you can see the expressed need for more then one school throughout the area with an average attendance suspected to be at least 60-70 students at each school.
