Pharr wins state broadband workforce grant; city to run fiber technician training and expand Pharr Connect

Pharr announced at its city commission meeting that it is a recipient of a Texas Broadband Workforce grant and will pair the award with $500,000 in local match funds to expand workforce training and the municipal Pharr Connect fiber network.

Napoleon Coker, grants director for the City of Pharr, said the award will support a fiber optic technician training school the city will host. "This is a workforce grant," he said, adding that pairing grant funds with education “has a bigger impact.” Jose Pena, Pharr's director of IT, said the program will be licensed through the Fiber Broadband Association and that Pharr will be one of three agencies in Texas offering the curriculum. "We're gonna train everybody in the Rio Grande Valley to get into the broadband technician, engineering, designing industry," Pena said.

Nonprofits and regional partners described roles in the effort. Jordana Barton Garcia of the Rio Grande Valley Broadband Coalition said the grant application and partnerships were written and led by local stakeholders to reach low-income and rural residents. Possible Dream Adult High School and Region 1 Education Service Center representatives said they will provide classroom space, recruitment and pipeline supports; Darsha Goya, superintendent at Possible Dream Adult High School, noted they will host adult training and some students will receive certifications.

Workforce agencies committed to placement and paid internships. Sally Perez of Workforce Solutions Cameron County said her organization will provide 120 internship opportunities during the grant period; other partner organizations signaled a similar scale of internships for other parts of the region. Partners also told commissioners the grant application included a fully equipped mobile training unit intended to deliver hands-on cohorts in Willacy and Starr counties so residents there can participate locally.

Officials also tied the grant announcement to Pharr Connect, the city's fiber network, and said the IT department will now handle fiber construction in-house to accelerate deployments. Staff described Winter Haven Mobile Home Park (240 units) as the first multifamily location to receive Pharr Connect service under this expansion, and said the city now reaches more than half of Pharr households through its fiber network. Staff also noted a longstanding partnership with a local school district that provides free Pharr Connect service to households with a child enrolled in that district.

City staff and partners said the grant required matching funds; Alondra Vasquez of the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation said her organization contributed $250,000 toward the match. Officials asked staff to publish details about registration and eligibility when sign-ups open.

Next steps: staff will finalize program timelines, open registration to the region and proceed with Pharr Connect deployments for identified multifamily and mobile home park footprints.