Teachers in Colorado Springs School District 11 should reconsider walking off the job Friday, and avoid disrupting thousands of children and families.

About 500 teachers from the city’s central school district plan to join about 10,000 others from around the state. They will abandon a day of work to rally at the statehouse in Denver for more education money.

This, just months after taxpayers voted to raise taxes and give D-11 schools an additional $40 million-plus each year.

The money will provide a 7.2 percent across-the-board raise for D-11 teachers. Other revenues will fund upgrades to buildings, computer equipment, and other needs.

The tax increase represents a worthy investment in a lot of good teachers and schools. The Gazette’s editorial board supports voters in approving it.

No one wants higher taxes, but a majority in the district decided teachers deserve more pay.

The tax increase is not easy for people who struggle.

Some elderly residents, on fixed incomes, could not make ends meet before the tax hike. Single parents often wait a week or more to buy another gallon a milk for their kids. They don’t buy $5 lattes, and higher taxes add to their struggles.

The teacher walkout will cause some of these taxpayers to stay home and lose a day of work. Others, lacking the option of missing work, will pay for a day of child care they did not anticipate.

As of Wednesday, at least 23 districts planned to shut down for the teachers’ walkout. The number will probably grow.

The day-long strike comes at a cost to everyone. The Independence Institute’s Education Policy Center estimates Colorado taxpayers will pay at least $12.7 million in pension benefits and other compensation to employees who aren’t working Friday.

We don’t dispute the protesters’ message. The Gazette’s editorial board has long argued for paying teachers more. Their jobs are crucial to ensuring the future of a prosperous and advanced society, and we appreciate the sacrifices they make.

Teachers work difficult jobs, most of which require college degrees and continuing education. They should earn more, but their wages hardly present a crisis of poverty.

The Colorado Department of Education reports the average Colorado teacher wage is $52,728. They work an average of 37 weeks each year, compared to private-sector employees who typically work 50 weeks.

“When you don’t include Boards of Cooperative Services (BOCES), but do include all 178 school districts and the state’s chartering authority (the Charter School Institute), the average teacher salary is $42,813,” explains analysis by the Education Policy Center. “A teacher may work about 37 weeks out of the year. Someone with only two weeks of vacation at the same pay would earn $57,855 a year.”

The $57,855 does not include the value of taxpayer contributions to each teacher’s health insurance policy or pension.

In Colorado Springs largest district, educators made a logical case for more money. They didn’t need a theatrical walkout. If we want the best teachers, we have to pay for the privilege. Voters listened, analyzed data, and sacrificed for their schools.

D-11 teachers could express gratitude Friday by staying their classrooms, while parents and other taxpayers work and sacrifice to pay them more.