WEST POINT — Legislators representing West Point-area residents met with about 30 of their constituents Thursday evening for a community forum, where Alabama Sen. Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) and state House Rep. Scott Stadthagen (R-Hartselle) fielded questions covering a variety of local ans state issues, from road funding to education.

Hosted by the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce’s Governmental Affairs Committee, Thursday’s community forum was the last of three sessions held this month throughout the county, with each meeting giving residents a chance to make their concerns known to lawmakers well ahead of next year’s legislative session.

Gudger, who did most of the speaking, again reviewed his reasoning for supporting the increased statewide gas tax package that passed this year’s session. When the topic of Alabama’s perennially below-average performance on national education standards tests came up, Gudger also shared his hope that a proposed law from Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston), which seeks to replace Alabama’s elected state school board with one appointed by the governor and ratified by the senate, would make it through the legislature next year.

Stadthagen also emphasized the significance of fully participating in the 2020 U.S. Census, noting that Alabama could see its Congressional representation (and federally allocated funding along with it) either rise or fall, depending on its residents’ response rate.

“We really need to make sure everybody fills out the questionnaire package,” he said. “The importance of that I can’t stress enough. If we get 80 percent [Census participation] or more, we could possibly gain a Congressional seat. But if we sit on our hands, we might even lose one. We could possibly lose a lot of money flowing to the State of Alabama, and we don’t want that to happen. Please return your Census questionnaire, and encourage everyone you know to do the same.”