This paper proposes a scheme for vertical partitioning of a database at the design cycle. When a partition is formed, attributes are divided among various systems or even throughout different geographical locations. This may result in situations where a query may include attributes that are located at different sites. The scheme determines the hit ratio of a partition. As long as it falls below a predetermined threshold, the partition is altered. Although no proof is provided, experimental data showed that moving an attribute that is loosely coupled to a different subset within a partition improves hit ratio. A simulator was built to test the proposed algorithm. Results of various simulation runs are consistent with the hypothesis. That is, the proposed algorithm enables a reliable distribution of newly designed database tables across multiple storage devices based on a predetermined hit ratio. The scheme is independent of frequencies of queries thus, can be used as a stepping stone for its counterpart, the dynamic partitioning technique.