In what would be a third big strike against South Florida teachers union bosses, Broward union president Pat Santeramo is under investigation for alleged financial misdealings.
On Wednesday, Santeramo meets with nine members of the Broward Teachers Union executive board seeking his removal. Santeramo has ignored demands that he resign while state investigators scour the affiliate's books.
Auditors brought in by the American Federation of Teachers at the request of Florida Education Association president Andy Ford have already found:
- BTU overestimated dues revenue by $1.2 million this year. The union counted on 13,725 full-time equivalent members, but had only 11,654.
- Only $96,652 out of $265,620 in expenditures by the union's multiple political action committees had any supporting documentation. Contributions were approved by Santeramo alone, instead of by the PAC board and the BTU executive council, as required.
- On a personal level, Santeramo had accumulated 230 vacation days and 122 sick leave days as of June 30 -- an accrued amount valued at $255,021. This represents 35 percent of the total accrued vacation/sick benefits for the BTU.
After much digging, auditors determined that Santeramo's salary was $189,000, plus $900 a month for expenses and use of an American Express credit card.
Starting pay for teachers is less than $40,000.
Overall, "the record keeping at BTU is poor, so it is possible that the [union] officers did not realize they were being overpaid, the auditors concluded.
Santeramo, who has been president of the Broward Teachers Union for 10 years, follows some not-so-illustrious footsteps.
A previous BTU president was indicted on child pornography charges and still received a generous "golden parachute" upon his departure.
In neighboring Miami-Dade County, the president of that school districts union affiliate went to federal prison for embezzlement.
"This latest controversy is a reminder of the Hobsons choice that Floridas teachers face," said Robert Sanchez, policy director for the James Madison Institute in Tallahassee.
"They may choose not to join the union, but that means theyll have no voice in the affairs of the organization that represents them in collective bargaining and other matters.
"Unfortunately, teachers only alternative is to pay exorbitant dues into a union treasury whose funds in the past have sometimes been put to legally questionable uses -- as well as supporting a large and well-paid central bureaucracy and aiding political candidates and radical causes with which the individual teachers may or may not agree," Sanchez said.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink and Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton received a combined $19,500 from BTU committees, auditors said.
Florida election law allows unions and corporations to set up multiple PACs. The maximum each entity may contribute to a candidate in an election cycle is $500.
The Miami Herald reported that as far back as 2003, a financial report to BTU's executive board indicated that certain information was being withheld from the unions former external accountant, Richard Kagan, as he tried to piece together quarterly summaries of the unions income and expenses.
The AFT auditors found widespread use of union credit cards by Santeramo and other BTU executives. "The majority of all credit-card charges transactions had no backup documentation," the audit said.
Santeramos attorney, Mike Moskowitz, told the Herald he feels very confident his client will have the necessary two-thirds vote of BTU's 27-member executive board to stay put.
But the firestorm won't die down any time soon.
AFTs recommendations include basic financial practices that should have been used all along.
The auditors noted, In the time allotted, we have not been able to review every transaction or financial matter related to the BTU. That leaves the possibility of other problems waiting to be uncovered.
JMI, a free-market think tank, says the problems extend beyond the union.
"Government is an accomplice in this financial round robin, allowing union dues to be deducted from the teachers paychecks and sent directly to the union treasuries," Sanchez said from his Tallahassee office.
"A better arrangement would enact a paycheck protection law, as other states have done, ending the payroll deductions for union dues. Teachers who wished to remain union members could write a check or else arrange for a payment plan using their credit or debit cards."
Sanchez said that in the states that have enacted paycheck protection laws, "many teachers -- faced with actually making a large payment rather than never seeing the money in the first place because it was deducted from their paychecks -- have decided against remaining union members.
"This has diminished the funds available for union bosses to spend and, all too often, to misappropriate. It is a reform that is overdue."
Jaryn Emhof, spokeswoman for former Gov. Jeb Bush's education advocacy group, Foundation for Florida's Future, said, "As a nonprofit we are held to standards of accountability. It is surprising that the unions are not held to a similar standard.
"Union leaders should be held accountable for the use of their members' hard-earned dues," Emhof stated.
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
