These are momentous days in Douglas County, Colorado. A 60,000-student school district charting new horizons for parental choice and academic excellence through cutting-edge, performance-based systems? An organized labor interest group frustrated at being stripped of monopoly power? Yes and yes. A lot of eyes are watching what unfolds in the growing suburbs south of Denver.

While we wait for the Colorado Court of Appeals to weigh in on the fate of student educational opportunity through the district’s groundbreaking Choice Scholarship Program,opponents of the bold, outside-the-box school board have been trying to make waves.

One of the rumors they have propagated is that the “crazy school board” has had a negative impact on the real estate market, scaring away potential buyers. Unfortunately for them, a new Media Trackers report indicates that if anything is true, the opposite is the case:

When asked by Media Trackers about the rumors of hampered home sales in Douglas County due to actions by the school board in the last year, Brad Smith, owner of Home Smart Realty Group and local Colorado housing broker who specializes in Douglas County home real estate, said, “I don’t know where these rumors are coming from or who would spread them, because they are simply not true.”

Smith, who manages over 1,000 real estate agents in Douglas County, went on to explain how all the latest trends show quite the opposite: ”Specifically in the last year, the Douglas County housing market has improved. So much so, prices and home values are increasing at a rapid pace in reflection with the high demand for homes here.”

There goes that rumor. Makes you wonder what sort of outrageous story they’ll come up with next. Meanwhile, the innovative work of re-imagining public education in Douglas County moves forward. And others continue to pay very close attention.