The Florida Elections Commission and the Broward State Attorney’s Office have launched an investigation into whether Broward Teachers Union President Pat Santeramo used union dues to reimburse employees, board members and their relatives for political contributions.

Four of the union’s executive board members are calling for his removal, also alleging that Santeramo falsified budget reports to conceal the payouts and did not report a $3.8 million budget shortfall.

Union board members also believe Santeramo and two other union officers were overpaid between $10,000 and $30,000 each over the past seven years.

Kim Fontana, a spokeswoman with the Broward State Attorney’s Office, confirmed Monday that Santeramo is under investigation, but she wouldn’t disclose details about the probe.

Separately, the American Federation of Teachers, the national umbrella organization over the BTU, conducted an audit of the Broward union’s finances about a month ago. In a Nov. 8 meeting with the union’s executive board, AFT flagged close to $20,000 in campaign contributions deemed to be apparent campaign violations.

Union spokesman John Ristow said the money went toward Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid and Democrat Alex Sink’s losing gubernatorial campaign. Board members knew at the AFT meeting that the state was investigating.

An email sent Monday from four board members — Hal Krantz, Leslie Janin Starr, Annie Feldman and Jeanne Albertus — urges their fellow board members to expel Santeramo.

“Mr. Santeramo told staff and officers they would be reimbursed by BTU for their campaign contributions,” the email said. “Pat should have known this is illegal and that he and others could face criminal and civil penalties and jeopardize the organization by reimbursing these individuals from BTU general funds.”

Mike Moskowitz, an attorney representing Santeramo, said he has not been notified by the state about the investigation and could not comment on the allegations, but said Santeramo is not ready to step down from the $155,000-a-year job.

“Pat has devoted 40 years of his life to education,” Moskowitz said. “The past 10 years as president, he has been devoted to working to benefit the teachers in the county, and he plans to continue serving in that capacity.”

A total of 26 union staffers, executive board members and their relatives are believed to have been reimbursed for political contributions, Ristow said.

AFT auditors started combing through BTU’s books about a month ago in response to concerns raised by local union members about Broward’s finances, Ristow said

Auditors also uncovered overpayments to Santeramo, first Vice President Bernie Schultz and Secretary-Treasurer Ronney Virgillito over the past seven years.

Ristow said the payments were due to a technical glitch in payroll processing. The three officers, who technically remain teachers-on-leave, are paid via the Broward County School District as if they were still teachers. But their salaries are reimbursed to the county by the union, which keeps the officers on its payroll. Ristow said the union and the district start their fiscal year at different times, which led to an overlap and overpayments.

Ristow said the three officers were unaware of the error and the money will be recovered by deducting it from future paychecks.