Which Distro for a Server?

[Alma J Wetzker]

Please help me list,

I just stepped into something warm and smelly and need to figure out how to 
get my shoe clean without getting my hands dirty.

I belong to the student chapter of IEEE.  It looks like I will be the next 
linux admin for the group.  Our main box with all the home directories and 
login scripts for linux and Windoze is on this box.  It is a Debian system and 
appears to be badly mangled or just plain broken.  (apt-get is no longer able 
to update several packages, we cannot get a new kernel to work on the system 
2.4.18 current)  (The sysadmins who put the box together [all graduated] still 
constantly tweak the box and don't want it changed, AT ALL.)

Is there a way to bring back a more vanilla debian experience?  If I need to 
wipe and reinstall the box, what distribution should I use?  (This is a 
critical system!)  This system needs to be in a condition that it can be 
handed off yearly and the new admin can pick up the job without significant 
pain.  (School is hard enough.)

Suggestions and comments welcome.

     -- Alma