NORWICH — Norwich Free Academy paid 439 employees $25.52 million in fiscal 2026, up from $24.95 million paid to 424 employees a year earlier, according to payroll records obtained by the Norwich Bulletin.
The change amounts to about $570,000, or roughly 2.3%, in additional payroll. The employee count rose by 15, about 3.5%. Those totals compare the school’s overall payroll and workforce; they do not show that every employee received the same pay increase.
The figures matter beyond Norwich. NFA says most of its students come from nine partner communities — Bozrah, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Franklin, Lisbon, Norwich, Preston, Sprague and Voluntown — and that sending communities fund tuition by agreement. The academy also enrolls private-tuition students.
The Bulletin reported that 95 employees earned at least $100,000, compared with 78 the previous year. Head of School Nathan Quesnel, whose listed role also includes superintendent and chief financial officer, received $385,210.93, the highest amount in the records.
The payroll figures alone do not establish a change in any town’s tuition bill.