I obviously don't know any of the technical details, but I'd think they could, section by section, replace the failing automated system with the standard manual

I obviously don't know any of the technical details, but I'd think they could, section by section, replace the failing automated system with the standard manual system (i.e. light switches) for a lot cheaper and less effort than getting a new server, etc. When I was a janitor in a middle school, every section of the building was assigned to a different janitor. After a janitor cleaned a room in the evening, they turned off the lights. The teacher or whoever using that room the next day turned on the lights when they arrived. Automating such a simple task was insanity.