Last week, the teachers union in the Douglas County School District — Colorado’s third-largest — asked the district’s board to restore collective bargaining. A previous board ended it in 2012.

The union pointed to Douglas County’s starting educator salary, calling it the lowest in the Denver metro area despite a hefty, 61,000-student enrollment.

Perhaps the union reps had forgotten Douglas County voters approved a $66 million mill-levy override in 2023, raising taxes to pay teachers more. That boosted the starting salary to $51,000. And Douglas County’s school board is now weighing another initiative for an additional 4% increase.

In other words, educators don’t need collective bargaining for a pay raise. They just need to earn the confidence of voters and the school boards they elect.…