Vermont's political leaders have pledged to work closely this upcoming legislative session to address high property taxes, but they're revealing little about the policy solutions they'll advance come January. Republican Gov. Phil Scott and Democrats who control the legislature are keeping their cards close to their vests and have declined to lay out their ideas for preventing another sharp increase in property taxes to fund education. The state tax department last week projected that those rates could rise 5.9 percent in 2025, absent legislative action. That would be on top of the 13.8 percent average increase that homeowners saw this year. If the projection were to hold, the education chunk of property taxes — which constitutes three-quarters of most homeowners' bills — will have soared 33 percent in three years. After Democrats took a drubbing at the polls in November, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth (D/P-Chittenden-Central), said he planned to dedicate the first week of the session to listening closely to Scott's ideas. Last week, Scott declined the invitation. His team would be happy to outline the issues facing the education systemc, but they aren't going to offer their proposed solutions during the first week, as Baruth suggested they do. "We're not prepared to do that," Scott said. Building the state budget is complicated work, he said, and must be done holistically with a wide range of issues taken into consideration. He said his goal is to avoid any tax increase and possibly offer a tax cut. "We're happy to talk about the problems we see and maybe talk about some of the dozens of proposals we've made over the last eight years," he said. House Democratic leaders were equally vague about the strategies they might embrace, stressing that there won't be a single policy solution. "I want to assure you that real, meaningful change is coming," Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) vowed during a Statehouse press conference last week. Krowinski is facing a rare public challenge to her leadership from Rep. Laura Sibilia (I-Dover), who has the backing of some Democrats rattled by their steep election losses that many attribute to the property tax hikes. Krowinski nevertheless received the strong support of her caucus on Saturday as the contest heads toward a January 8 vote in the House. Last session, the legislature established the Commission on the Future of Public Education and charged it with strategizing potential…