If you had no personal interest in the public education system, would you vote to increase taxes for education?

This morning my wife was telling me about some people at work. There are tax referenda going on over in NJ. In order to raise education taxes above the state mandated limit, the voters have to approve it. Many districts are facing drastic cutbacks.

One of my wife’s colleagues said that she had no children, so she wouldn’t support the tax increase. Another had a baby coming, but she said she wouldn’t support it, either. She said that by the time her kid was ready for school, they wouldn’t be living there any more.

Do you agree with these decisions? Why or why not? Do you think we are all in this together, or it’s every man for himself? Is there any reason to support public education any more? Or should we just let people fend for themselves—to buy the education they can afford for their kids?