When Clifton Creek Primary School in East Gippsland was destroyed by bushfire this month, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews quickly promised to rebuild it, but local CFA captain Ian Brownrigg says he wishes he'd had a chance to speak to the Victorian leader before that decision was made.

Key points: After more than a century, Clifton Creek Primary School was destroyed by bushfire

After more than a century, Clifton Creek Primary School was destroyed by bushfire Premier Daniel Andrews has promised to rebuild the school

Premier Daniel Andrews has promised to rebuild the school The community is divided about its future

"There is a whole lot better things that they could do for the community than just going and spending whatever amount of money, just going and slapping a school up for the start of the school year," the Sarsfield CFA captain said.

It's not something you hear from rural leaders too often, but Mr Brownrigg said he had concerns about defending any rebuilt school from future fires.

He said he was never consulted about the fire risks of rebuilding the school on the same site.

Fire swept through Clifton Creek Primary School just before the new year, leaving little more than rubble. ( ABC News: Billy Draper )

In Clifton Creek opinion is divided on the school's future, with parents of children at the school backing its rebuild.

Community leaders from Victoria's 2009 Black Saturday bushfires have told the ABC it demonstrates the complexity ahead for communities rebuilding from Victoria's most recent bushfires.

Mr Brownrigg's own family has a long history at Clifton Creek Primary School.

"I went to school here, my brother and sister went to school here, my wife was principal here, dad was school president for a long time, on school council for many years," he explained.

He was also the CFA captain on hand when the school became surrounded by fire on all sides on December 30.

The bushfire raced up the hill towards Clifton Creek Primary School, destroying its buildings and melting play equipment. ( ABC News: Billy Draper )

Mr Brownrigg was involved in making the decision that the school could not be saved.

"If we were to have defended the school it would have been the only asset in the community, all the private houses would have been at risk, more than they even were and it just become the very difficult decision that it was undefendable," he said.

Mr Brownrigg said the school had not been well maintained for fire season.

"It has had no preparation, it had large multiple buildings, pine bark, woodchips all that sort of vegetation that was hard to manage," he said.

Mr Brownrigg said a sprinkler system that had been at the school had been disconnected and while the school had a good plan to get children out of the area in the event of a bushfire, there wasn't a plan to protect buildings.

He said with climate change and a rise in major bushfires, the ability of firefighters to defend any future school needed to be considered.

A sink and mural are all that is left of this section of Clifton Creek Primary School. ( ABC News: Billy Draper )

"What are we going to do to protect it in the future? That is really the issue," he said.

"We couldn't defend it here the other night, so can we defend it in the future?"

He said the school, like the local community, had changed over the years.

While it taught the children of local farmers for many years, these days he said many of the school's 12 students come from Bairnsdale.

Mr Brownrigg believed public money could be better spent improving a school in the larger regional centre of Bairnsdale, which is about a 20-minute drive from Clifton Creek.

The netball ring survived, but buildings all around it were destroyed by bushfire at Clifton Creek Primary School. ( ABC News: Billy Draper )

But not everyone in Clifton Creek agrees with the CFA captain.

Rebecca West has two daughters, Emma, 10, and Aimee, 7, at Clifton Creek Primary School. Her family moved into a home a few kilometres from the school just five weeks ago.

When the ABC visited the family, fire had blackened their property, burning a perimeter right around their house.

Rebecca West says her daughters Emma and Aimee want to return to their school. ( ABC News: Billy Draper )

Initially the family thought their home had also been destroyed.

"We had been told by neighbours that the fire had gone right through our property and that our house had gone, we were devastated," she said.

"It was a really tough time, we didn't know what had happened and we couldn't get back home because there were trees on the road."

While the family later learnt their home was still standing, the children did lose their new school.

"It was devastating, really devastating, because my girls really love that school," she said.

Ms West said the families of children at the school do want it rebuilt.

"I know my girls want to go back there, they don't want to go to a larger school in town, they want to stay at their small school, it is where they are comfortable," she said.

She described Clifton Creek Primary School as a unique school that gave children the chance to grow their own vegetables, tend to animals, cook and play musical instruments.

Little remains standing at Clifton Creek Primary School, with equipment already on site to start clearing the rubble. ( ABC News: Billy Draper )

"They have a lot of freedom, I find, to be individuals," she said.

Ms West is adamant that Victoria should continue to support small rural schools.

"We do need smaller schools, we have a lot of larger schools and as you know not everybody socially adapts to having that many people around them in the larger schools," she said.

Victoria's Education Minister James Merlino said the Victorian Government would honour its promise to rebuild Clifton Creek Primary School.

"Consultation with the school community will begin over the coming weeks and we will be guided by their feedback on the best outcome for students," he said.

The Minister said it was important for the entire community that the school be once again opened.

"Clifton Creek Primary School is not only a school but a community asset," he said.

"Schools are often at the heart of their local community and used in a variety of ways and that is why I want residents to know we are prepared to rebuild the school."

One man who understands the scale of the rebuilding challenge is Steve Pascoe, who chaired the Black Saturday 10th anniversary working group for the town of Strathewen.

He is now in the fire-devastated town of Mallacoota in East Gippsland, working as a mentor to community leaders going through the early stages of bushfire recovery.

He said residents were going through a whirlwind of emotions.

"In the initial two or three days after a major event there is a lot of shock but then that turns into some happiness about surviving, so a bit of joy about surviving, a bit of a honeymoon period," he said.

But Mr Pascoe said that atmosphere does shift.

"As that washes off, a lot of anger comes out and this is just a natural human reaction to being under stress and that again passes in a few days and then we get into some real stuff and the community starts switching onto, so where to now?"

It is a big question for many fire-ravaged towns.

Steve Pascoe is in Mallacoota, where he is helping leaders from that bushfire-affected community. ( ABC News: Ben Knight )

Mr Pascoe said the community of Kinglake also experienced difficulty rebuilding schools after the Black Saturday fires.

"There is a desire by government to get in and do things and put things back the way they used to be, it is a strong desire, and it is what some people want, but it may not actually be the best outcome for the community," he said.

Mr Pascoe said in Kinglake there were three primary schools before Black Saturday, but after the fires there was an opportunity to consider if the region needed a high school.

"But Government pushed ahead and rebuilt the schools the way they were and that missed a fantastic opportunity for the long-term life of the community," he said.

Mr Pascoe said for communities dealing with the aftermath of these fires, it was important that community leaders were proactive and that governments asked the right questions.

"The first question to ask is 'how can we help?'" he said.