Below is a table that tallies the top step salaries for teachers with a Master’s Degree in North Carolina without adjustment for inflation. It starts with 2006-2007 school year.

Imagine being a teacher who starts in each of those years looking at the salary schedule to see what could be possible when you reach the last part of a career in education. The figures below represent the maximum according to its published year.

If you earn a graduate degree and started that program after 2014, you will no longer be able get graduate degree pay. Only those who earned a master’s or above before the cut off year are grandfathered in. Same for due-process rights.

NBCT certification does offer a pay raise, but the process must be self-financed if undertaken.

School Year	Top Salary For A Master’s Degree Started In Year You Began Master’s Degree Before Or In 2014	Due Process Rights as a Veteran And Longevity Pay	Medical Insurance As A Retiree
2006-2007	$54,800 (Year 30)	Yes	Yes
2007-2008	$57,290 (Year 31)	Yes	Yes
2008-2009	$57,810 (Year 31)	Yes	Yes
2009-2010	$57,810 (Year 32)	Yes	Yes
2010-2011	$57,810 (Year 33)	Yes	Yes
2011-2012	$57,810 (Year 34)	Yes	Yes
2012-2013	$58,500 (Year 35)	Yes	Yes
2013-2014	$58,500 (Year 36)	Yes	Yes
2014-2015	$55,000 (Year 30)	No	Yes
2015-2016	$50,000 (Year 25)	No	Yes
2016-2017	$51,000 (Year 25)	No	Yes
2017-2018	$51,300 (Year 25)	No	Yes
2018-2019	$52,000 (Year 25)	No	Yes
2020-2021	$52,000 (Year 25)	No	Yes
2021-2022	$52,680 (Year 25)	No	Yes
2022-2023	$54,000 (Year 25)	No	No
2023-2024	$55,100 (Year 25)	No	No

Again, there is no longevity pay any longer.

Imagine what this would be if adjusted for inflation.

Below are links to copies of the actual salary schedules for each of those years including pay scales for bachelor’s and master’s degree.

Salary schedules for 2016-2017 up to the present can be found through this link to NC DPI.

And this is a useful tool from the Governor’s Office on NC teacher pay.