Eliminating the state sales tax on food will not hurt education funding, Gov.-elect Mike Beebe assured members of the Arkansas School Boards Association Thursday.

“I want you to believe that I want to do it in a way that’s responsible and doesn’t adversely affect your ability to deliver your services,” Beebe said in a speech at the association’s annual conference.

Beebe campaigned on a pledged to phase out the state tax on groceries. In a Nov. 29 appearance at the Arkansas Farm Bureau’s annual convention in Hot Springs, Beebe assured the organization that tax exemptions for farm products would not be cut to make up for revenue lost by eliminating the grocery tax.