From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Mar. 4, 1971:

Col. Louis A. Mallia, commanding officer of Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, had recently announced that 749 employees were to be laid off by June. Working on the assumption that the plant’s employment would continue at previous levels, DeSoto School Supt. Robert L. Morris had recommended that nearly all teachers and administrators be rehired. Now it appeared that the school district would have a staff surplus and a money shortage. Figures showed that 350 children of Sunflower plant employees attended public schools in DeSoto or Sunflower, and the government had been paying about $57,000 in “impacted area funds” to help pay for their education — funds that comprised about eight percent of the district’s operating budget. Layoffs at the plant would decrease this source of income. In addition, 223 students in Eudora schools had at least one parent employed at Sunflower, but Eudora Supt. Charles Hill did not expect a large decrease in enrollment as a result of the layoffs. “I expect most of them will find other employment, or the women may retire to be housewives,” said Hill.