The school publisher and events organizer LRP  is acquiring the company that oversees District Administration magazine, in a move the two organizations predict will offer K-12 leaders a stronger set of editorial products, conferences, and professional-growth opportunities.

LRP Conferences, which is a part of LRP Publications, is the entity that will acquire Professional Media Group, LLC, a media and conference provider for K-12 and higher education and the publisher of the administrator-focused magazine.

LRP, based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., directs an array of conferences and trade shows, most notably the annual Future of Education Technology Conference, held this past January in Orlando, Fla. It is also a publisher of newsletters, books, videos, and resources in many areas, including education —covering topics such as special education and the federal Title I program—as well as human resources.

The acquisition “broadens our reach in media to District Administration’s print magazine and electronic publications, as well as the District Administration Leadership Institute,” said Kenneth Kahn, the president and CEO of LRP, in an interview.

District Administration has more than 200,000 print and digital subscribers, LRP said in a statement. The overall editorial direction of the publication will remain the same, though there will be “an additional emphasis on educational technology,” Kahn said. The current staff of the publication will remain in place.

In a statement, LRP Senior Vice President and Publisher of Education Products Robert Avossa said retaining the Professional Media Group’s staff was important because of the leadership the staff would provide during the “massive undertaking” of merging the companies’ work.

Retaining the staff “is in the best interests of our customers and will be critical to our ability to effectively drive long-term value from this acquisition,” said Avossa, a former schools superintendent in Palm Beach County.

Kahn founded LRP Publications in 1977. The company has about 500 employees, he said, and more than $70 million in annual revenue. In addition to its publications, LRP delivers yearly training and professional development to 80,000 individuals through 13 trade shows in China, Singapore, and the United States.

The acquisition will help the growth of the FETC conference, which drew 10,000 attendees this past year, Kahn said. In particular, adding District Administration and the Professional Media Group’s other assets will build the attendance of K-12 administrators and others involved in school systems’ use of digital technology, he said.

“District Administration has always been about one thing: school district leadership,” said Dan Kinnaman, president of Professional Media Group, in a statement. “I look forward to bringing our superb content and offerings to LRP and FETC to unlock even more value for customers as they continue to set the pace in an expanding and dynamic industry.”

Correction: The original version of this post misspelled the name of LRP President Kenneth Kahn.

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