ARLINGTON — On the same evening that Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert honored outgoing schools superintendent Kris McDuffy, the City Council agreed to partner with the school district on the Advanced Manufacturing Training Education Center.

Tolbert presented McDuffy with a plaque June 20, characterizing her as “an outstanding leader” during her eight years as superintendent, for fostering collaboration between the city and school district, as well as Cascade Valley Hospital and Clinics.

Among the initiatives that the city, school district and hospital have teamed up on are emergency management, vocational education, purchasing, staff training and building maintenance.

“While her primary focus was on the superior education of our students, she never forgot that there were countless opportunities to work together,” city administrator Paul Ellis said.

Tolbert asserted that strengthening the partnerships has served to make both agencies better, and credited McDuffy with getting them to work hand-in-hand to also save taxpayers money.

Their joint efforts also allowed the city and schools to respond to natural disasters and emergencies affecting school buildings and students, which was evident during the 2014 Oso slide, when Post Middle School opened its doors as a shelter within three hours of the disaster.

“It has been an honor to work with Kris over these past five years,” Tolbert said, adding she helped provide technical training to schools, working with the city and local businesses “to keep our talented youth working in the community.”

The council then approved the agreement between the city and school district to establish AMTEC North at Weston High School, complete with electrical equipment improvements and other facility upgrades.

Ellis cited local business’ complaints that not enough prospective employees possess the specialized manufacturing training they need to join the workforce. He also touted its value in helping to bring about the long-planned Manufacturing Industrial Center, between Arlington and Marysville.

“Training programs are already available in Everett, but that’s prohibitive for both high school students and local businesses who want to send their employees,” Ellis said. “Paying for travel time alone becomes very expensive.”

Ellis commended local businesses for donating equipment to train on, while council member Jesica Stickles, who also serves as president and CEO for the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce, noted, “I’ve been waiting for a while for higher education like this to work its way up north.”