COUNTY — The field in the special election to fill the unexpired term of recently resigned school board trustee Ben Trotter ballooned to five candidates before filing ended with Monday’s deadline.

In addition to former School District of Pickens County building program director Bob Folkman and Tri-County Technical College Easley campus director Brian Swords, who both entered the race on the first day of the filing period, signing up to run before Monday’s noon deadline were Liberty-area businessman Roy Costner, longtime SDPC teacher Bonita Thomas Holland and Kathy Powell, wife of Liberty City Councilman Charles Powell.

Trotter announced his resignation earlier this month as the school board’s Liberty-area representative, and the resignation will become official on Saturday.

The non-partisan special election is set for April 1, and the winner will serve out the remainder of Trotter’s term, which expires in November. The seat will again be up for grabs in the November election.