Abstract: This study evaluated the influence of school heads’ budgeting capabilities on the financial health of public secondary schools in Meru District Council, Arusha Region. The main objectives were: to explore the adequacy of budgeting skills among heads of public secondary schools and to examine the state of financial health of public secondary schools in Meru District Council. Employing a convergent parallel mixed methods design, the study targeted a population of 97 stakeholders, out of whom a sample of 37 respondents was selected for data collection. Data were gathered from 30 Heads of Schools using a questionnaire and interview guides from the district education officer and 6 school board chairpersons. Using SPSS-based Cronbach’s test of validity and reliability, a threshold of 0.78 was obtained; therefore, the instruments were considered acceptable for data collection. Analysis integrated descriptive and inferential statistics for quantitative data, while thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to test the hypothesis, which revealed a significant positive relationship between budget management capabilities and financial health (r = .505, p = .004). The study found that heads of schools generally possess budgeting skills, and the schools were moderately financially stable. Despite challenges in debt management and cash reserves, the study recommends that there should be enhanced supervision, auditing, and resource allocation to improve financial accountability. The study concludes that heads’ budgeting skills are crucial, but weak forecasting and revenue projection require ongoing training. Schools need better planning, diversified revenue, a very strong reserve, and improved debt control.