Butterfield Elementary School was built as the fourth currently used elementary school in Lake Elsinore. Existing elementary schools in Lake Elsinore at the time of Butterfield's construction were Elsinore Elementary, Wildomar Elementary and Machado Elementary schools. There are now 14 elementary or K-8 schools in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District (one other school, Jean Hayman Elementary closed in June, 2008-09 due to budget cuts, and will not reopen due to seismic findings). Being a magnet school Butterfield had students who live throughout the district, but most of the school's students continued their education at Lakeland Village Middle School (now Lakeland Village School (K-8), and Lakeside High School.